Background

Pharmaceutical care is an essential component of healthcare services, and patient satisfaction with these services is crucial for improving overall health outcomes. We aimed to evaluate patient satisfaction and perception with pharmaceutical care services provided at public and private hospitals for outpatient pharmacies. This study can provide insights into the quality of pharmaceutical services provided in both settings and identify areas for improvement.

Materials and methods

A cross-sectional 1-month study was conducted in three hospitals in Nablus city in the Northern District of West Bank, Palestine. Participants were a convenience sample of outpatients who attended the study-selected hospitals (two public and one private). A sample of 30 patients from each hospital was selected with a total of 90 patients. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess socio-demographics pharmacist-related issues, waiting and working time, and medication availability.

Results

A total of 90 patients were recruited. The overall level of patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical health services was moderate with a mean of 3.24 out of 5. Females represented 58.9%. The most prevalent age was (30–39) years (30%). There was a statistically significant difference in patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical services regarding working time between the morning and evening shifts (p value = 0.009) in favor of morning shift. No statistically significant differences in satisfaction with pharmaceutical treatments based on socio-demographics (age, gender, marital status, education level, family income, employment status, and living place), were found. Nearly, 70% of patients indicated having problems getting the medicine on their last visit to the hospital pharmacy. Only 66.7% of patients expressed satisfaction with the pharmacies’ operating (working) hours.

Conclusions

Patient satisfaction with pharmaceutical care services could be enhanced by involving pharmacists in patient-oriented training and informing patients about the role of pharmacists. Patient satisfaction in the evening shift might be improved by establishing a system for continuous evaluation and improvement of pharmaceutical care services in hospitals to ensure the highest quality of care for patients in addition to implementing technology such as electronic prescribing and medication management systems that can improve the accuracy and efficiency of pharmaceutical services in hospitals.

Title

J Pharm Policy Pract

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Publisher Country

United Kingdom

Indexing

Thomson Reuters

Impact Factor

4.2

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

16

Year

2023

Pages

16:108