Societal perspectives on community pharmacy services in West Bank - Palestine
Date
2012-03-12
Authors
Khdour, Maher R.
Hallak, Hussein O.
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Abstract
Understanding the public's view of professional
competency is extremely important; however little
has been reported on the public’s perception of
community pharmacists in Palestine
Objectives: To determine the perception of
Palestinian consumers of the community pharmacist
and the services they offer
Method: This project used the survey methodology
administered by structured interviews to consumers
who attended the 39 randomly selected
pharmacies, in six main cities in Palestine. The
questionnaire had range of structured questions
covering: Consumers’ patronage patterns,
consumers’ interaction with community pharmacists,
consumers’ views on how the pharmacist dealt with
personal health issues, procedure with regard to
handling private consultations.
Results: Of 1,017 consumers approached, 790
consumers completed the questionnaire (77.7 %).
Proximity to home and presence of knowledgeable
pharmacist were the main reasons for patients to
visit the same pharmacy. Physicians were identified
as the preferred source of advice by 57.2% and
pharmacists by 23.8%. Only 17% of respondents
considered pharmacists as health professionals
who know a lot about drugs and are concerned
about and committed to caring for the public. In
addition, 49% indicated that pharmacists spoke
more quietly cross the counter during counseling
and almost one third reported that the pharmacist
used a private area within the pharmacy. The
majority of respondents would be happy to receive
different extended services in the community
pharmacy like blood pressure monitoring.
Conclusions: Palestinian consumers have a
positive overall perception of community
pharmacists and the services they offer. Awareness
should be created amongst the public about the role
of pharmacist and the added value they can provide
as health care professional. There is a need to
consider privacy when giving patient counseling to
increase user satisfaction.
Description
Keywords
Patient Satisfaction , Pharmacists , Professional Role , Middle East