Measuring patients' satisfaction with pharmaceutical services at a public hospital in Qatar.

PURPOSE

The aim of this paper is to study pharmacy service impact on patient satisfaction and to determine what factors saliently link with pharmaceutical service performance at Hamad General Hospital.

DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: A patient satisfaction questionnaire was designed using the literature and consultation with Hamad General Hospital medical experts. The questionnaire contained 22 items that focused on five influencing factors: promptness; attitude; supply; location; medication education; and respondent demographic aspects. A total of 220 respondents completed the questionnaire. An exploratory factor analysis was used to group items and a structural equation model was developed to test causality between five factors along with their influence on patient satisfaction.

FINDINGS

The study establishes statistical evidence that patient satisfaction is positively influenced by service promptness, pharmacist attitude, medication counseling, pharmacy location and waiting area. Several socio-demographic characteristics have statistically different effect on satisfaction, notably: gender; marital status; health status; age; educational level; and ethnicity. However, medication supply did not influence patient satisfaction.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

Pharmaceutical services are recognized as an essential healthcare-system component. Their impact on customer satisfaction has been investigated in many countries; however, there is no such study in Qatar.

ORIGINALITY/VALUE: The findings identify pharmaceutical service performance indicators and provide guidelines to improve Qatari pharmaceutical services.