The work at the pharmacy: Sweden and The Netherlands compared.

At pharmacy Orden in Apeldoorn (the Netherlands) a change in the flow of filling a prescription was made, introducing the 'counter model': one person fills the prescription at the counter and is checked by another person. This change was mainly inspired by the actual working situation in Sweden. A comparison was made between pharmacy Orden and pharmacy Ekorren (Sweden) with respect to working systems, communication patterns, time spending and perceptions of the personnel. At pharmacy Orden fewer communication disturbances occurred and less advice was required to fill a prescription than at pharmacy Ekorren. The time to fill a prescription was almost two minutes shorter at pharmacy Orden. The personnel at both pharmacies was satisfied with the physical and psychological workload. The technicians at pharmacy Ekorren felt subordinate to their higher educated prescriptionist colleagues in filling a prescription.