Classification of Pharmaceutical Services from the Viewpoint of Patient Satisfaction/Dissatisfaction

Abstract

A survey was conducted to examine what the public expects of pharmacists. We created 26 questions based on 26 diŠerent situations that patients encounter at pharmacies in order to assess patient satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Some questions were designed to compare pairs of symmetrical situations. The survey was carried out in February and March 2001. The surveys were conducted with patients and/or patients' relatives who brought their prescriptions to pharmacies and with employees of pharmaceutical companies and their family members. A factor analysis extracted two factors among the 26 variables, theˆrst being patient dissatisfaction and the second being patient satisfaction. However, factor loadings for some paired situations were not necessarily symmetrical and thus the absolute values of the scores were not equal. The results suggest that satisfaction on one side does not entail dissatisfaction on the other side and thus satisfaction and dissatisfaction can be examined as separate and distinct entities. Based on these results, we classiˆed pharmaceutical services into two types. Theˆrst type is referred to as instrumental service. In this situation patients do not feel great satisfaction even if such service is provided. However, they feel great dissatisfaction if the service is not provided. The second type is referred to as expressive service. These patients feel some satisfaction if such service is provided, however, they do not feel a fatal dissatisfaction if the service is not provided. Our research documents that when examining data based on the assumption that there is a diŠerent dimensionality for patient satisfaction and dissatisfaction, it is possible to gain insights into new aspects of pharmaceutical services that are otherwise impossible to assess.

What Do Customers Demand from Drug Stores in Japan? Construct Validity and Factor Structure of a Cross-Sectional Survey

“…As mentioned above, the previous studies at pharmacies demonstrated that patients visiting pharmacies considered the expertise and the pharmacy’s location as the most important [2,6,7,9,10,11]. The current study revealed that the functional difference between drug stores and pharmacies had some effects on the structure of customers’ demands.…”

“…Surveys on medical facilities were mainly conducted at hospitals and pharmacies [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. However, there have been few reports about surveillance at drug stores.…”

Patient Evaluation of a Community Pharmacy Medications Management Service

“…Hayashi et al 18 hypothesized that "expressive" satisfaction occurs when a pharmacy service is "not strongly required but desirable." However, if some patients question whether pharmacists should be operating in territory that is perceived to be beyond their recognized and legitimate role, then it might be expected that satisfaction could be lower.…”

Relationship of pharmacist interaction with patient knowledge of dispensed drugs and patient satisfaction

“…It is suggested that the attitude of the pharmacist and specialized activities such as providing information and explanations and the convenience of opening hours are not only judged to be important by patients but also influence their satisfaction [9,10]. The ultimate goal of patient satisfaction is to improve patient care.…”