Stakeholders' views of service quality in community pharmacy: a qualitative study.

This study investigates the views of a range of stakeholders regarding the effectiveness of service quality as a differentiating position for community pharmacy. Using qualitative methodology, 20 in-depth interviews were conducted with various stakeholders of the retail pharmacy market, including community pharmacists. It was found that current service levels were perceived to be variable, with a strong level of concern evident that the rhetoric of professionalism in community pharmacy is not always matched by the reality. There was disagreement regarding whether potential market entrants such as supermarkets would be capable of delivering a high quality of service and indeed whether that would even be their objective.