Nature and perceived benefits of patient-initiated consultations in community pharmacies: A population survey

Guy Paré; Aude Motulsky; Alexandre Castonguay; Stéphanie Boulenger

doi:10.1016/j.rcsop.2022.100194

Nature and perceived benefits of patient-initiated consultations in community pharmacies: A population survey

Explor Res Clin Soc Pharm. 2022 Oct 12:8:100194. doi: 10.1016/j.rcsop.2022.100194. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Guy Paré¹, Aude Motulsky², Alexandre Castonguay³, Stéphanie Boulenger⁴

Affiliations

¹ Research Chair in Digital Health, HEC Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
² Research Center, Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada; Department of Management, Evaluation and Health Policy, School of Public Health, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada.
³ Faculté des sciences infirmières, Pavillon Marguerite-d'Youville, C.P. 6128 succ. Centre-ville, Montréal (Québec) H3C 3J7, Canada.
⁴ Center for Interuniversity Research and Analysis of Organizations, Montréal, Canada.

Abstract

Background: The role of community pharmacists in enhancing patient care has received increased attention. However, there is a paucity of literature on the nature, frequency, and perceived impacts of patient-initiated consultations in community pharmacies.

Objectives: We aim to describe the profile of patients seeking advice from community pharmacists as well as the nature and impact of those consultations.

Methods: A survey was conducted with Quebec adults who had consulted a pharmacist in the previous four weeks. Data was collected in 2017 and 1104 agreed to participate (25.3%). Of those, 93 were withdrawn due to incomplete data and 98 failed to meet the inclusion criteria. Sample representativeness was ensured by quota sampling (gender, age) after stratification by region.

Results: Among the 913 respondents, 46% had consulted a pharmacist more than once during the four weeks prior to the survey. Individuals with a university degree consulted less often than those without (1.97 vs. 2.17 times; t = 2.0; p < .05) and participants with one or several chronic diseases consulted more frequently than those having no chronic disease (2.18 vs. 1.94 times; t = 5.7; p < .05). Older adults (55+) consulted more often for themselves compared to younger (18-34) and middle-aged (35-54) adults (1.53 vs. 1.31 vs. 1.44 times; F = 4.0; p < .05). Concerning the consultations, 58% were related to medications and 33% to health problems. In terms of impacts, 81% of consultations were perceived to have prevented the use of other healthcare resources. Patient satisfaction with their consultations was high with an average score of 8.75 on a 10-point scale (SD = 1.63).

Conclusions: Findings reveal that the reasons for consulting a community pharmacist are diverse, most being related to medications or health issues. Patients reported that pharmacists were able to manage most consultations without referring them to other health care resources or professionals, and their satisfaction with their consultation was high.

Mesh terms: Community pharmacy; counselling; patient satisfaction; primary health care; surveys and questionnaires.

Keywords: Community pharmacy; Counselling; Patient satisfaction; Primary health care; Surveys and questionnaires.