BackgroundA satisfactory counseling process between the patient and pharmacist is critical for rational use of dispensed drug(s) and is highly influenced by many factors including the experience of pharmacist in dispensing process. To improve patients’ knowledge of dispensed drugs, it is necessary to understand the factors that optimize a pharmacist interaction with a patient in each activity of the dispensing process. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify the pharmacist and patient factors that influence knowledge of dispensed drugs by ambulatory patients at Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, Harar, Ethiopia.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on 422 respondents. Data were collected by interviews using a structured questionnaire that measures “exit knowledge” of the ambulatory patients for dispensed drugs. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS Version 20.0. Potential covariates were identified using χ2 test, and logistic regression analyses were undertaken to adjust for the covariates.ResultsOur findings showed significant proportions of the patients did not recall the name of their dispensed medication (53.6%), major side effects (66.4%), and what to do in case of missed doses (65.4%). Patients’ knowledge of dispensed drugs was significantly associated with their educational level (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01–3.84 [primary], AOR: 2.04; 95% CI: 1.04–4.04 [secondary], and AOR: 2.71; 95% CI: 1.35–5.46 [tertiary]); clear instruction from the pharmacist (AOR: 3.36; 95% CI: 1.16–9.72); and the politeness of the pharmacist (AOR: 2.02; 95% CI: 1.04–4.04).ConclusionWe found that the majority of patients poorly understood the name of the dispensed medication, side effects, and what to do in case of missed doses. In addition, the formal educational level of the patient, clear instruction from the pharmacist, and the politeness of pharmacist were the factors significantly associated with improved exit knowledge of patients for dispensed drugs. Therefore, increased communication skills training for pharmacists would optimize patient–pharmacist interaction, which in turn would likely improve exit knowledge of ambulatory patients for dispensed drugs.

Background: In the counseling process, a multi-cultural competence of dispenser is among the key factors affecting his/her successful communication with patients for achieving optimal use of medications. For patients to use dispensed drugs appropriately, it is a must for them to understand the medication related information provided by the dispenser. Hence, the objective of this study was to identify parameters that likely affect ambulatory patients' knowledge of medication(s) provided at the exit of outpatient pharmacy of Federal Harar Police Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia.Methods: Cross-sectional study design was employed to conduct this study. An interview of patients was made at the exit of hospital pharmacy using a semi-structured questionnaire. The interview tool primarily assessed the knowledge of the patients for a maximum of three medications provided. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 20.0, was employed for analysis of the data. Chi-squared test was done to retain parameters with potential to have association; and the retained parameters were adjusted by performing bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses.Results: The result showed that only 37.2, 33.4 and 28.7% of the patients were able to recall the name of the drug(s), common side effects, and actions to be taken for missed doses, respectively. The likelihood of patients' knowledge for dispensed medications was high among patients aged 19–39 years (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 5.0; 95% CI: 1.04–24.2) and who thought their communication with dispenser had been polite (AOR: 4.62; 95% CI: 1.48–14.4). However, the knowledge status was found low among patients who were Afan Oromo speakers (AOR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.35–0.95) and who came from rural residence (AOR: 0.48; 95% CI: 0.25–0.90).Conclusion: A high proportion of patients were unable to recall the drug (s) name, associated common toxicities, and actions to be taken in case of missed dose. In addition, patients who were at early adulthood and who were positive for the politeness of dispenser had better exit-knowledge of their medication. Therefore, for the patients' clear understanding of medications provided, it is mandatory to optimize patient–dispenser communication possibly by adapting multi-cultural communication skills and by providing focused training for dispensers to address factors that likely affect patient-dispenser interactions.