Saudi adults satisfaction with community pharmacy services

BACKGROUND Community pharmacists play a significant role in patient health care in Saudi Arabia and are directly responsible for medication-related counseling. Aim To assess Saudi Adults satisfaction with community pharmacy services and the secondary objective is obtaining an insight of their needs in patient counseling service. METHODS This cross-sectional survey was conducted via a questionnaire distributed to a representative sample of 650 Saudi adults approached at pharmacists and public places in areas of Riyadh during March 2014. RESULTS 500 Complete questionnaires were collected, and the response rate was 77 %. Around 41 % were satisfied with Saudi pharmacy services. Out of these, 57 % attributed their satisfaction to pharmacist counseling on current medication, 96 % to appropriate dosage regimen explanation and 73 % to appropriate time spent in counseling (p < 0.001). When asked about reasons for dissatisfaction, 82 % of the unsatisfied group stated that pharmacists fail to ask about comorbid diseases and 78 % reported unavailability of dedicated pharmacist for patient counseling (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION Saudi adults have variable levels of satisfaction with community pharmacy services. To increase levels of satisfaction, it is necessary to provide adequate pharmacist training in community pharmacies.