title: Evaluation of patient safety culture among Malaysian retail pharmacists: results of a self-reported survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patient safety is a major public health issue, and the knowledge, skills, and experience of health professionals are very much essential for improving patient safety. Patient safety and medication error are very much associated. Pharmacists play a significant role in patient safety. The function of pharmacists in the medication use process is very different from medical and nursing colleagues. Medication dispensing accuracy is a vital element to ensure the safety and quality of medication use.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the attitude and perception of the pharmacist toward patient safety in retail pharmacies setup in Malaysia.
  
  
  METHODS
  A Pharmacy Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire was used to assess patient safety culture, developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the convenience sampling method was adopted.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall positive response rate ranged from 31.20% to 87.43%, and the average positive response rate was found to be 67%. Among all the eleven domains pertaining to patient safety culture, the scores of "staff training and skills" were less. Communication openness, and patient counseling are common, but not practiced regularly in the Malaysian retail pharmacy setup compared with those in USA. The overall perception of patient safety of an acceptable level in the current retail pharmacy setup.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The study revealed that staff training, skills, communication in patient counseling, and communication across shifts and about mistakes are less in current retail pharmacy setup. The overall perception of patient safety should be improved by educating the pharmacists about the significance and essential of patient safety.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy.
authors.forename: Palanisamy
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sivanandy
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy.
authors.forename: Mari Kannan
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Maharajan
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Practice, School of Pharmacy.
authors.forename: Kingston
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rajiah
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Tan Tyng
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Tan Wee
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Loon
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy, International Medical University, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
authors.forename: Lim Chong
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Yee
keywords: attitudes; communication openness; medication errors; patient counseling; perceptions