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Annals of Pharmacy Education, Safety, and Public Health Advocacy

2026 Volume 6 Issue 2

Beyond the Digital Front Door: An Equity Framework for Maintaining Access, Informed Choice, and Relational Continuity in Technology-Mediated Community Pharmacy Health Promotion


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  1. Department of Pharmacy Practice and Digital Health, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
  2. Department of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
  3. Department of Pharmacy Administration and Health Equity, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea.
  4. Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Health Informatics, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
Abstract

Digital technologies are reshaping how community pharmacies deliver health-promotion information, support preventive interventions, and maintain contact with patients. Although these arrangements may extend service availability, their equity implications depend on whether people with unequal digital resources can participate meaningfully, exercise informed choice, and sustain relationships with pharmacy professionals. This article develops an original non-empirical equity framework for technology-mediated community pharmacy health promotion through critical integration of pharmacy-service research, digital-health-equity literature, and scholarship on relational continuity. The analysis distinguishes service availability, practical accessibility, effective participation, informed choice, interpersonal continuity, and downstream health outcomes. It conceptualizes equitable access as a multi-path service arrangement in which digital, assisted, and non-digital participation remain workable alternatives, with clear responsibilities for maintaining continuity when patients move between routes. The framework assigns organizational significance to assistance, information transfer, route selection, and remediation when an intended service pathway becomes inaccessible. It also establishes an evaluation logic that separates digital uptake from meaningful service completion, freely selected participation, and continuity over time. Its contribution is conceptual and organizational; the complete framework has not undergone empirical validation. Community pharmacy digital transformation should be assessed through the opportunities it preserves for participation and ongoing care, including for people who cannot or choose not to use digital services.


How to cite this article
Vancouver
Berg J, Tan M, Kim H, Weber T. Beyond the Digital Front Door: An Equity Framework for Maintaining Access, Informed Choice, and Relational Continuity in Technology-Mediated Community Pharmacy Health Promotion. Ann Pharm Educ Saf Public Health Advocacy. 2026;6(2):189-99. https://doi.org/10.51847/vU3hPxf8NE
APA
Berg, J., Tan, M., Kim, H., & Weber, T. (2026). Beyond the Digital Front Door: An Equity Framework for Maintaining Access, Informed Choice, and Relational Continuity in Technology-Mediated Community Pharmacy Health Promotion. Annals of Pharmacy Education, Safety, and Public Health Advocacy, 6(2), 189-199. https://doi.org/10.51847/vU3hPxf8NE
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