Measuring patients' satisfaction with pharmaceutical services at a public hospital in Qatar

• Published in: International journal of health care quality assurance 2013-01, Vol.26 (5), p.398-419
• Main Authors: Fahmi Khudair, Imran, Asif Raza, Syed
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Age Factors; Attitude of Health Personnel; Attitudes; Cooperation; Customer satisfaction; Drug industry; Drug stores; Expatriates; Expenditures; Experts; Female; Gender; Health administration; Health care; Health facilities; Health Status; Hospitals; Hospitals, Public; Humans; Internet; Male; Medical research; Middle Aged; Patient Education as Topic - organization & administration; Patient Satisfaction; Patients; Pharmaceuticals; Pharmacists; Pharmacy; Pharmacy Service, Hospital - organization & administration; Professional relationships; Professional-Patient Relations; Qatar; Quality of Health Care; Quality of service; Questionnaires; Research methodology; Sex; Socioeconomic Factors; Studies; Time Factors; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0952-6862; 1758-6542
• DOI: 10.1108/IJHCQA-03-2011-0025

Purpose - The aim of this paper is to study pharmacy service impact on patient satisfaction and to determine what factors saliently link with pharmaceutical service performance at Hamad General Hospital.Design methodology approach - A patient satisfaction questionnaire was designed using the literature and consultation with Hamad General Hospital medical experts. The questionnaire contained 22 items that focused on five influencing factors: promptness; attitude; supply; location; medication education; and respondent demographic aspects. A total of 220 respondents completed the questionnaire. An exploratory factor analysis was used to group items and a structural equation model was developed to test causality between five factors along with their influence on patient satisfaction.Findings - The study establishes statistical evidence that patient satisfaction is positively influenced by service promptness, pharmacist attitude, medication counseling, pharmacy location and waiting area. Several socio-demographic characteristics have statistically different effect on satisfaction, notably: gender; marital status; health status; age; educational level; and ethnicity. However, medication supply did not influence patient satisfaction.Practical implications - Pharmaceutical services are recognized as an essential healthcare-system component. Their impact on customer satisfaction has been investigated in many countries; however, there is no such study in Qatar.Originality value - The findings identify pharmaceutical service performance indicators and provide guidelines to improve Qatari pharmaceutical services.