Patients' perceptions and expectations of outpatient pharmacy services in a teaching hospital

Abstract

A six-week prospective study was carried out in a Singapore outpatient hospital pharmacy to assess patients' perceptions and expectations of pharmacy services. From a total of 1,273 self-administered questionnaires distributed, 413 evaluable responses were returned. These showed that the most important services in the patient's view were a prescription filling waiting time of less than 30 minutes, medicines being dispensed accurately and reasonable pricing. The mean acceptable waiting times for prescription filling were 9.5 minutes for up to two items, 16.8 minutes for three to five items and 23.9 minutes for six or more items. Pharmacists' competency was rated significantly higher by respondents with higher education and higher incomes than by those with lower education and incomes, while the time spent with the pharmacist was rated less sufficient by respondents with a lower income than by those with higher incomes.