Factors associated with patient satisfaction in an outpatient hospital pharmacy

Abstract

ObjectiveTo analyse the factors leading to greater satisfaction among patients attending the outpatient hospital pharmacy (OPh).MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted of patients attending the OPh of a 1250-bed university hospital. A self-administered questionnaire for measuring outpatients' satisfaction was developed. Global satisfaction was measured on a scale of 1 to 10. Indices of perceived quality for accessibility, interpersonal professional–patient relationship and the convenience of the process were modelled through a principal component analysis using varimax rotation. The relationship between the principal components and overall satisfaction was evaluated using regression analysis.ResultsA questionnaire-based survey was conducted between May and June 2015. A total of 509 valid responses (86.9% response rate) were collected from the OPh. The overall satisfaction score was 7.81 (95% CI 7.59 to 8.04). The principal component analysis produced two components that explained 62.1% of the variance. The first component (CP1) contained questions related to the adequacy of the resources and services. The second component (CP2) contained questions about interpersonal professional–patient relationship. An additional unit in the CP2 was associated with a 3.23 increased risk of having higher satisfaction scores, while an increase of an additional unit in CP1 was associated with a 1.93 increased risk of having higher satisfaction scores.ConclusionsOur study shows that the factor which predicts the satisfaction of patients who come to the OPh is the quality of care provided by pharmacists—in particular, information provided, resolution of doubts, personal attention and time devoted to the patient.

Exploring satisfaction level among outpatients regarding pharmacy facilities and services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; a large regional analysis

“…Moreover, various other studies conducted in KSA where study population majorly comprised of young patients showed no relationship of patients`satisfaction with age [ 10 , 12 ]. In another study conducted in Spain, age was not significantly associated with satisfaction [ 4 ]. Recently, Aziz et al (2018) found higher satisfaction score among patients with age ranging from 26 to 30 years [ 22 ].…”

“…Pharmacists, in collaboration with other health professionals, have a responsibility to improve the quality of care among patients [ 4 , 5 ]. Since the healthcare system has shifted from episodic care to population health management and from volume to value-based care, the role of pharmacists and their contribution has been emphasized in treatment and prevention of chronic diseases and their related complications [ 6 , 7 ].…”

Patients’ Perspectives on Services Provided by Community Pharmacies in Terms of Patients’ Perception and Satisfaction

“…4 Consequently, Administrations that offers more high-class pharmaceutical health care to their patients do establish prominent levels of satisfaction. 5,6…”

A population-based study on patients complaining regarding community pharmacies services

“…The quality of services provided by the pharmacist, including the information given to patients, his/her attempts to resolve patients' doubts, his/her care for patients, and the amount of time devoted to patients' personal attention and time devoted to patients, was the most important factor predicting patient satisfaction. [ 16 ] In another study, patients' satisfaction regarding pharmacy services in the medication therapy management clinic was assessed. The results showed that the overall satisfaction did not significantly correlate with age, gender, ethnicity, and number of comorbidities.…”