Patient Satisfaction With Public Pharmacy Services: Structural and Policy Implications From Greece

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Pharmaceutical Care
• Patient Experience

Background:

• Public pharmacies, specifically National Organisation for Healthcare Provision (EOPYY) pharmacies in Greece, play a crucial role in dispensing high-cost medications.
• Understanding patient satisfaction is vital for optimizing healthcare services and improving patient outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate patient satisfaction with services provided by EOPYY pharmacies in Greece.
• To identify specific areas of service that require optimization, particularly concerning patient health advice.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Patient Satisfaction with Pharmacist Services Questionnaire 2.0 (PSPSQ 2.0).
• Collected 201 complete responses from patients and companions visiting EOPYY pharmacies in Athens between October 2022 and January 2023.

Main Results:

• Patients reported high satisfaction with pharmacist professionalism, respect, and general information provided.
• A lower score was observed for information concerning overall health improvement, highlighting a gap in medicinal advice.

Conclusions:

• Patients desire a more proactive and guiding role from pharmacists, emphasizing better communication of this function.
• Improvements in patient satisfaction can be achieved through increased patient-pharmacist interaction time, targeted training, and organizational adjustments.