Evaluating the use and quality of pharmacy drive-up services

To evaluate the use and quality of pharmacy drive-up services; specifically, to assess patients' and pharmacists' views of the drive-up and determine the implications for assuring or improving the quality of the services provided.

Questionnaires developed for patients and pharmacists addressed aspects of pharmacy drive-up services. The patient questionnaire asked about prescription information and drive-up use, satisfaction with pharmacy services, importance of patronage factors, comfort in using the drive-up, and comparison of drive-up and in-store visits. The pharmacist questionnaire was similar in content, but also contained open-ended questions pertaining to the provision of pharmaceutical care at the drive-up pharmacy.

Six pharmacies in Central Iowa.

A sample of patients who had received at least one prescription from a participating pharmacy in the previous 30 days; pharmacists from participating pharmacies.

Responses from users and nonusers of the pharmacy drive-up.

Both users and nonusers of the drive-up indicated that pharmacist-linked services--those that entail direct pharmacist-patient contact and are closely associated with the ideals of pharmaceutical care--may be provided better in-store. The pharmacists also indicated that these services were provided better in-store and mentioned other ways in which drive-up services may detract from patient care.

As pharmacist-linked services become more important in health care, and as drive-up pharmacy services increase in popularity, the compatibility of drive-up service with a greater emphasis by pharmacists on patient care will increasingly become an issue. To allay potential concerns and improve the quality of service, pharmacists need to take additional steps to assess drive-up patients' level of familiarity with their medications, require patients to come into the pharmacy periodically, and, where necessary, provide alternative services at the drive-up.