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.