Awareness, expectation and satisfaction towards ward pharmacy services among patients in medical wards: a multi-centre study in Perak, Malaysia

BACKGROUND: Patient’s awareness and satisfaction towards ward pharmacy services may influence perception towards effectiveness and safety of drugs, affecting medication adherence and clinical outcome. Nevertheless, studies on local ward pharmacy services were lacking. This study evaluated awareness, expectation and satisfaction of ward pharmacy services among patients in medical wards and determined their association with demographic characteristics. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study using self-administered questionnaire conducted in medical wards of fourteen Perak state public hospitals from September to October 2020. In-patients aged ≥18 years old were included. The validated questionnaire had four domains. The student’s t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multiple linear regression were was employed to evaluate the association between patients’ demographic characteristics with their awareness, expectation and satisfaction towards ward pharmacy services. RESULTS: 467 patients agreed to participate (response rate = 83.8%) but only 441 were analysed. The mean age of the patients was 54.9 years. Majority was male (56.2%), Malay (77.3%), with secondary education (62.9%), rural resident (57.1%) and reported good medication adherence (61.6%). The mean awareness score was 49.6 out of 60. Patients were least aware about drug-drug interaction (3.85 ± 1.15) and proper storage of medications (3.98 ± 1.06). Elderly patients (β = − 2.82, P < 0.001) obtained lower awareness score. Patients with tertiary education (β = 3.87, P = 0.001), rural residents (β = 3.65, P < 0.001) and with good medication adherence (β = 2.55, P = 0.002) had higher awareness score. The mean expectation score was 44.0 out of 50. The patients had higher expectation to encounter a polite ward pharmacist (4.51 ± 0.56). Patients with tertiary education (β = 1.86, P = 0.024), rural residents (β = 1.79, P = 0.001) and with good medication adherence (β = 1.48, P = 0.006) demonstrated higher expectation. The mean satisfaction score was 43.6 out of 50. The patients had high satisfaction in language used (4.45 ± 0.57) and level of knowledge demonstrated (4.41 ± 0.62) by the ward pharmacists. Patients with tertiary education (β = 2.16, P = 0.009), rural residents (β = 1.82, P = 0.001) and with good medication adherence (β = 1.44, P = 0.009) demonstrated higher satisfaction, while elderly patients (β = − 1.17, P = 0.031) had lower satisfaction towards ward pharmacy services. CONCLUSION: There was a high level of awareness, expectation and satisfaction towards ward pharmacy services in public hospitals of Perak, Malaysia.