European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

EVALUATION OF SERVICE QUALITY IN COMMUNITY PHARMACIES IN PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA

Bagbi B. M.* and Alagala M. B.

ABSTRACT

Community Pharmacies play a vital role in bringing healthcare much closer to patients. The pharmacist can serve as the first and last link in the healthcare provision chain so there is need to ensure good quality pharmacy practice is routinely carried out. The community Pharmacist therefore has an obligation to deliver quality service to the community. The aim of the study is to evaluate the quality of pharmaceutical services rendered in the Community Pharmacies with focus on the drug product and patients in relation to pharmaceutical care philosophy. Questionnaires were given to both patients and pharmacists in 173 community pharmacies choosing appropriate process, structure and outcome indicators. The study showed that all 173 pharmacists have personal encounters with patients so as to interact and establish a relationship with them in order to promote the safe and effective use of medications and to maximize therapeutic outcomes and these are critical components of pharmaceutical care. Of the 173 pharmacies used for the study, 70.2% pharmacies have functional facilities for proper drug storage. The remaining 29.8% have their storage facilities at different sub optimal levels of functionality. The study shows that there are appropriate structures and processes put in place in community pharmacies in Port Harcourt which aids quality service delivery and provision of pharmaceutical care however, not all have written Guidelines supportive of this new philosophy of pharmacy practice.

Keywords: Pharmacist, Quality service, Pharmaceutical care.