Japanese pharmacists’ information strategy using behavioural economics: provision of numerical information with ‘peak-end rule’ improves willingness to take a hypothetical medication

Abstract Objectives Low medication adherence is considered a cause of exacerbated diseases and greater economic losses. Hence, information strategies that improve patients’ willingness to take medications have received considerable attention. Newer information strategies that utilise the ‘peak-end rule’ proposed in behavioural economics were investigated in this study to advance strategy development. Methods An online scenario survey was conducted among adults aged 20–79 years in Japan. One of four medication counselling videos on a hypothetical hypertension drug narrated by a pharmacist was viewed by the respondents and their willingness to take the medication was evaluated. The four scenarios differed according to the presence or absence of risk probability and the order in which risk and benefit were provided. Key findings The responses of 383 participants were analysed and the results revealed that providing risk probability increased their willingness to take medication (3%), whereas the estimated risk probability by the participants was 28.7% on an average when no numerical probability was provided. Moreover, when risk probability was provided in a benefit/risk order, the willingness to take medication increased than in the risk/benefit order. Conclusions The participants’ willingness to take medication improved when the pharmacists provided risk probability; this helped participants comprehend that the risk probability was lesser than their assumptions. Moreover, the participants’ attention to the numeric information in medication counselling can be elicited by the peak-end rule. The findings from the hypothetical scenarios employed in this study merit further testing in real-life situations for clinical application.