Patient request for pharmacist counseling and satisfaction: Automated prescription delivery system versus regular pick-up counter.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the rate of patient-requested pharmacist counseling for refill prescriptions and satisfaction with pick-up process for patients using an automated prescription delivery system (APDS) versus those using a regular pick-up counter and to explore patient willingness to use an APDS as a tool for pharmacist monitoring of medication therapy outcomes.


METHODS
In this uncontrolled, cross-sectional, survey study, we assessed use of APDS or the regular counter by 116 patients picking up refill prescriptions at two community pharmacies. The main outcome measures were number of patients requesting pharmacist counseling for refill prescriptions, patient satisfaction with pick-up process, and patient willingness to use an APDS to report medication therapy outcomes.


RESULTS
None of the regular counter users and only two APDS users (3.7%) requested counseling for their refill prescription (P = 0.126). Almost all patients agreed that they were able to talk to a pharmacist about their prescription if they wanted to do so (95.1% regular counter and 92.3% APDS; P = 0.268). The majority (75%) of patients using APDS indicated that they would be willing to use the system to answer questions or perform simple tests to provide information that the pharmacist could use to improve medication effectiveness or reduce adverse effects.


CONCLUSIONS
Very few patients (ADPS or regular counter) asked to speak to a pharmacist about their refill medications, although it appeared that no perceived barriers to pharmacist access existed. Most APDS patients were willing to use this new technology to provide information about therapy outcomes to the pharmacist. Further exploration and testing of the APDS as a data collection tool to enhance pharmacist access to therapy outcomes is warranted.
Hirsch
Jan D
JD
Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA92093-0714, USA. janhirsch@ucsd.edu
Oen
Austin
A
Robertson
Suzie
S
Nguyen
Nancy
N
Daniels
Charles
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001331:Automation; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D037001:Directive Counseling / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000458:organization & administration*; D055656:Prescriptions; D024382:Professional Role; D055815:Young Adult