Aim: To compare the service quality in public and private pharmacies in the city of Kragujevac by measuring patient care and health facility indicators.
Methods: The patient care indicators and health facility indicators, established by the World Health Organization in 1995, were measured prospectively in 7 public and 7 private pharmacies in Kragujevac, Yugoslavia, during November and December 1999. A sample of 100 patient-visits was analyzed in each pharmacy.
Results: Our study showed that the average drug dispensing time ranged from 20.5 to 48.2 seconds, being significantly longer in private (21.1-48.2 s) than in public pharmacies (20.5-33.7 s) (F=13.12, p<0.001). The percentage of actually dispensed drugs ranged from 29% to 63%, and no significant difference was found between public and private pharmacies. Patients' knowledge of a correct dosage ranged from 30% to 74% and the availability of key drugs ranged from 67% to 93% with no significant difference between public and private pharmacies. There was serious negligence in labeling the dispensed drugs in both public and private pharmacies: not a single drug package was labeled according to the World Health Organization recommendations. Key drugs were highly available in both public and private pharmacies.
Conclusion: The average drug dispensing time was too short for a proper interaction between a pharmacist and a patient in both public and private pharmacies. The results of our study suggest that there was no real difference in the service quality between the public and the private pharmacies.