A study investigating the level of satisfaction with the health services provided by the Pharmacist at ENT hospital, Eastern Region Alahsah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The current study aims to evaluate the patient's level of satisfaction with health care services provided by the pharmacist at Aljaber ENT hospital, Eastern Region Alahsah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A cross sectional study was planned from 1st March 2011 until 31st May 2011. A 27 item questionnaire was used, scoring of the responses was done to classify the patient satisfaction into sublevels. The maximum possible score was 36; those scoring less than twenty were graded as poor satisfaction level followed by moderate satisfaction level 21-25, good satisfaction level 26-30 and high satisfaction level 31-36. Statistical package for social science version 13® was used to analyze data, One-way ANOVA and independent sample t-test were applied to see the differences in the level of satisfaction. Every third patient visiting pharmacy was given a chance to participate in this study. A total of N = 991 patients were randomized using the pharmacy appointment number. Of whom 657 patients have shown willingness to participate in this study. The response rate of this study was 66.30%, most of the respondents 383 (58.1%) were male ranging from the age group of 21-40 years with a mean age of 32 years SD 9.73. The mean score for all patients was 26.15 SD ±3.4. Among all the demographic variables a significant difference in satisfaction level was found among in terms of age (df = 8, F = 8.36, p = <0.001(∗)), gender (t = -4.089, df = 656, p=<0.001(∗)) and race (df = 2, F = 8.47, p = <0.001. The satisfaction level among Saudi nationals was least in comparison to Egyptians and others. In general, it is seen that respondents of age 56-60 years were most satisfied with the healthcare services provided by the pharmacist. In addition, the satisfaction level was higher among female patients in comparison to men.

Nível de satisfação dos usuários e verificação do conhecimento dos farmacêuticos em farmácias públicas do Espírito Santo, Brasil

“…Adicionalmente, os farmacêuticos possuem conhecimento entre satisfatório/regular para a dispensação de medicamentos, e acreditam que precisam melhorar quanto às ações de cuidados ao paciente. Poucos são os estudos que verificam o nível de satisfação dos usuários em farmácias públi-cas de dispensação de medicamentos básicos e, de modo geral, estas pesquisas se concentram em farmácias comunitárias privadas e hospitalares 2,11,19 . Entretanto, é importante contribuir com o campo de investigação da satisfação nestas farmácias públicas, e neste nível de atenção à saúde em países em desenvolvimento.…”

“…Deste modo, como não eram tidos como essenciais ao funcionamento dos serviços, os estudos de avaliação se desenvolveram vagarosamente e de forma fracionada 1 . No cenário atual, pesquisa sobre satisfação dos usuários tem sido considerada um importante indicador dos serviços de saúde, por meio do qual é possível acessar a qualidade e a aplicabilidade desses serviços 2 . Nesse contexto, os serviços de saúde podem ser avaliados de várias maneiras, tanto pela estrutura física e mão-de-obra humana e material, quanto às atividades realizadas com o intuito de fornecer melhoria terapêutica ao paciente e relações interpessoais.…”

Level of satisfaction of clients of public pharmacies dispensing high-cost drugs in Espírito Santo, Brazil

“…Recent studies show that users become more satisfied with the services of a pharmacy when the pharmacist interacts with them and gives clear explanations about the medications (Al-Arifi, 2012;Alturki, Khan, 2013). Alturki and Khan (2013) found that 61.2% of users expressed dissatisfaction, as they did not understand the information provided by the pharmacist.…”

“…Alturki and Khan (2013) found that 61.2% of users expressed dissatisfaction, as they did not understand the information provided by the pharmacist. In addition, Catic, Jusufovic and Tabakovic (2013) showed that the features most appreciated by users about the pharmacist were the explanations and providing appropriate responses (79.1%), followed by consultation offered by these professionals who clearly informed the patient about the drugs proposed by the physician.…”

“…Furthermore, the user satisfaction data may improve the work of managers of the public health system (Espiridião, Trad, 2005;Benazzi, Figueiredo, Banassi, 2010). Thus, the level of satisfaction of users of a health service could be converted into indicators of quality to promote an improvement in this service.Recent studies show that users become more satisfied with the services of a pharmacy when the pharmacist interacts with them and gives clear explanations about the medications (Al-Arifi, 2012;Alturki, Khan, 2013). Alturki and Khan (2013) found that 61.2% of users expressed dissatisfaction, as they did not understand the information provided by the pharmacist.…”