TY - JOUR
T1 - Measuring patients' satisfaction with pharmaceutical services at a public hospital in Qatar
AU - Fahmi Khudair, Imran
AU - Raza, Syed Asif
PY - 2013/6/3
Y1 - 2013/6/3
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Customer satisfaction
KW - Health services
KW - Healthcare
KW - Patient satisfaction
KW - Pharmaceutical services
KW - Psychometric properties
KW - Qatar
KW - Structural equation modelling
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U2 - 10.1108/IJHCQA-03-2011-0025
DO - 10.1108/IJHCQA-03-2011-0025
M3 - Article
C2 - 23905301
AN - SCOPUS:84879699753
SN - 0952-6862
VL - 26
SP - 398
EP - 419
JO - International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance
JF - International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance
IS - 5
ER -