Factors influencing the exit knowledge of patients for dispensed drugs at outpatient pharmacy of Hiwot Fana Specialized University Hospital, Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

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.

Exit-Knowledge of Ambulatory Patients About Medications Dispensed in Government Hospital in Eastern Ethiopia: The Need for Focused Patient Counseling

“…The most effective tasks in promoting the pharmacist–patient interaction were obtaining patients' history and provision of verbal instruction. Besides, eye contact was significantly related to patient perceptions of clinician empathy and connectedness ( 28 – 30 ). However, very short dispensing time was considered as a major factor for inadequate provision of medication counseling and hence results in poor exit knowledge of patients about their dispensed drugs ( 31 ).…”

The Extent and Reasons for Dissatisfaction From Outpatients Provided With Pharmacy Services at Two Public Hospitals in Eastern Ethiopia

“…Moreover, perception of outpatients about the technical knowledge of pharmacists was also indicated to independently affect their satisfaction and quality of the patient–pharmacist interactions ( Alghurair et al, 2012 ). Patients who perceived instruction and politeness of pharmacists as satisfactory and positive, respectively, were identified to have good knowledge for dispensed medications at exit from outpatient pharmacy of HFSUH ( Hirko and Edessa, 2017 ). This study had investigated perception of outpatients pertaining to knowledge of pharmacists about medications they are dispensing and their communication; however, it did not measure ethnicity and language of preference for the pharmacists.…”

“…The interview was made by using a structured questionnaire that involves satisfaction questions customized from the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for satisfaction of pharmaceutical service provisions ( FMHACA, 2012 ; MSH, 2012 ). A complete data for a questionnaire designed to assess patients’ perceived interaction status with pharmacists and other parameters aimed to assess factors influencing the exit knowledge of the patients for dispensed medicines was fully indicated in a previous publication that partly used the same dataset obtained from interview of patients served at HFSUH ( Hirko and Edessa, 2017 ). However, data addressing satisfaction of patients with the pharmacy services at the two hospitals were not included in the previous publication.…”

Factors affecting patients’ knowledge about dispensed medicines: A Qualitative study of healthcare professionals and patients in Pakistan

“…Likewise, in Botswana Boonstra and co-workers [ 2 ] looked at labelling and knowledge of dispensed drugs as quality indicators in primary care and found that patients had a reasonable knowledge of medicines but that family welfare educators did not. In Ethiopia Hirko and Edessa [ 10 ] explored the exit knowledge of patients at an outpatient pharmacy from a university hospital. From 422 respondents, they found that the majority of patients poorly understood the name of the dispensed medication, side effects and what to do with missed doses.…”