The pharmacy profession has increased its focus towards delivering patient-centred care, an integral dimension of high quality health care. This is reflected by the introduction of remuneration for Australian FK506 molecular weight community pharmacists for the provision of patient-centred services, such as medication use reviews, with a particular emphasis towards assisting people with chronic health conditions. Given the rise in chronic conditions and the evolving role of Australian community pharmacy, it is essential to

explore what influences a person’s choice of pharmacy, in particular which attributes of patient-centred care or pharmacy services they value. This study aimed to explore determinants of pharmacy choice with a variety of people with chronic health conditions and unpaid carers. Participants were either newly diagnosed with a chronic condition, had one or more established condition(s) or were unpaid carers. Purposive sampling was used for recruitment within four diverse Australian regions: Logan-Beaudesert and Mount Isa (Queensland), Northern Rivers (New South Wales) and GW-572016 order Perth (Western Australia). An interview guide was informed by previous stakeholder research on the same topic1–2 and a Reference Group comprising culturally diverse key stakeholders checked the guide

for cultural appropriateness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between May-October 2012 either by telephone or face-to-face. QSR NVIVO 9® and the constant comparison method were used to analyse results. Ethical approval was obtained from Griffith University’s human research ethics

committee. Ninety-seven interviews were conducted; these the majority of participants were female (n = 65) and regular patrons of one pharmacy. However, some participants who patronised a regular pharmacy also utilised a different pharmacy for a specific need and other participants casually visited various pharmacies. Five inter-related determinants influenced these choices: patient-centred care, convenience, price, personal traits of the consumer and service/medication need. A patient-centred approach was frequently identified as important by regular pharmacy users, with the following key attributes: individualised and respectful medication counselling, continuity of care and relationships with pharmacy staff. Some participants felt disloyal when they traded their regular pharmacy for another in order to obtain cheaper medication. Convenience remained a consistent factor for consumers when choosing a pharmacy. There was limited discussion with respect to choice on the basis of professional service provision, e.g. medication reviews and compounding (manufacturing of ‘specials’), thus emphasising limited consumer knowledge of pharmacy services.