Background Evaluation of patients`satisfaction towards pharmacy services is of utmost importance to ensure the quality of care. It helps in identifying domains requiring improvements to provide high quality pharmacy services to ensure the provision of enhanced pharmaceutical care. The current study aims to ascertain the extent of satisfaction towards pharmacy services among patients attending outpatient pharmacies in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study involving 746 patients attending outpatient pharmacies of various public hospitals was conducted from 01 January to 15 February 2020. Information on socio-demographic profile of the study subjects along with their satisfaction towards outpatient pharmacy was extracted by using a 23-items questionnaire. These questions were divided into two domains including 7 questions related to the pharmacy facilities (questions from 1F to 7F) and 8 questions for pharmacy services (questions from 1S to 8S), where F and S denotes facilities and services, respectively. The cumulative satisfaction score was estimated by a 5-item Likert scale with a maximum score of 5 for each item. The relationship between demographics and satisfaction scores was evaluated by using appropriate statistics. Results There were 746 patients with male preponderance (58.8%). The overall satisfaction score was 2.97 ± 0.65. Satisfaction towards pharmacy services scored lower (mean score: 3.91 ± 0.77) than pharmacy facilities (mean score: 4.03 ± 0.66). Items related to patient`s counseling (3F, 2S, 3S, 6S) scored least during the analysis. Older patients (p = 0.006), male gender (p<0.001), Saudi nationality (0.035), patients attending primary care centers (p = 0.02), and patients with chronic illnesses were significantly associated with lower satisfaction score. Conclusion This study reported that the satisfaction level of patients attending outpatient pharmacies was low and differed among various socio-demographic groups. Approximately one-half of the patients were not satisfied with outpatient pharmacy services. These findings underscore the dire need for managerial interventions including the hiring of trained professionals, onsite training of pharmacy staff, initiation of clinical or patient centered pharmacy services, evaluation of patient`s response towards the services and appropriate controlling measures, irrespective to the type of hospitals.
Instrument-assisted soft tissue manipulation (IASTM) is a form of mechanotherapy, e.g., massage, that uses rigid devices which may be machined or cast. The delivered force, which is a critical parameter during IASTM, is not measured and not standardized in current clinical IASTM practice. In addition to the force, the angle of treatment and stroke frequency play an important role during IASTM. For accurate IASTM treatment, there is a strong need to scientifically characterize the IASTM delivered force, angle of treatment, and stroke frequency. This paper presents a novel, mechatronic design of an IASTM device that can measure the localized pressure on the soft tissue in a clinical treatment. The proposed design uses a three-dimensional (3D) load cell, which can measure all three-dimensional force components simultaneously. The device design was implemented using an IMUduino microcontroller board which provides tool orientation angles. These orientation angles were used for coordinate transformation of the measured forces to the tool–skin interface. Additionally, the measured force value was used to compute the stroke frequency. This mechatronic IASTM tool was validated for force measurements in the direction of tool longitudinal axis using an electronic plate scale that provided the baseline force values to compare with the applied force values measured by the tool. The load cell measurements and the scale readings were found to agree within the expected degree of accuracy.
3D force sensors have been proven its effectiveness and appropriateness for robotics applications. It has been used in medical and physical therapy applications such as surgical robot and Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Manipulation (IASTM) in the recent times. The 3D force sensors have been utilized in robot assisted surgeries and modern physical therapy devices to monitor the 3D forces for improved performances. The 3D force sensor performance and specifications depend on different design parameters, such as structural configuration, sensing elements placements, and load criterion. In this paper, different bioinspired structure configurations have been investigated and analyzed to obtain the optimal 3D force sensor configuration in terms of structural integrity, compactness, safety factor, and strain sensitivity. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) simulation was used for the analysis to minimize the time of the development cycle.
Instrument assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) is a form of massage using rigid manufactured or cast devices. The delivered force, which is a critical parameter in massage during IASTM, has not been measured or standardized for most clinical practices. In addition to the force, the angle of treatment and frequency play an important role during IASTM. As a result, there is a strong need to characterize the delivered force to a patient, angle of treatment, and stroke frequency. This paper proposes a novel mechatronic design for a specific instrument from Graston Technique® (Model GT-3), which is a frequently used tool to clinically deliver localize pressure to the soft tissue. The design uses a 3D load cell, which can measure all three force components force simultaneously. The overall design is implemented with an IMUduino microcontroller chip which can also measure tool orientation angles and provide computed stroke frequency. The prototype of the mechatronic IASTM tool was validated for force measurements using an electronic plate scale that provided the baseline force values to compare with the applied force magnitudes measured by the device. The load cell measurements and the scale readings were found to be in agreement within the expected degree of accuracy. The stroke frequency was computed using the force data and determining the peaks during force application. The orientation angles were obtained from the built-in sensors in the microchip.
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