1ISG-004 Assessment of customer satisfaction with hospital pharmacy services in Estonia

Abstract

<h3>Background and importance</h3> According to the European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy, the overarching goal of the hospital pharmacy service is to optimise patient outcomes through working collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams in order to achieve the responsible use of medicines across all settings.¹ A comprehensive understanding of the satisfaction of hospital staff with the pharmacy service is necessary for improving the quality of service. However, no studies assessing contentment with hospital pharmacy services have been conducted in Estonia. <h3>Aim and objectives</h3> The aim of the survey was to assess the satisfaction of hospital staff with hospital pharmacy services. <h3>Material and methods</h3> A web-based survey was conducted from November 2020 to January 2021 in public hospitals in Estonia. Two regional, one central and two general hospitals were included in the study in order to cover different types of hospitals. Respondents were asked to assess the following service areas: (1) medication dispensing and distribution, (2) compounding, (3) clinical pharmacy services and medicine information, (4) clinical trials and (5) communication. A five-point rating scale was used to assess the satisfaction with services. All hospital staff were invited to participate in the study. <h3>Results</h3> A total of 269 respondents participated in the survey; most of them were nurses (65.4%), doctors and other staff responded to a lesser extent. Overall satisfaction with hospital pharmacy services was 3.9 on a five-point scale. Satisfaction was higher in general hospitals compared to regional or central hospitals. The compounding service was rated the highest (4.2) and the medication dispensing and distribution service received the lowest score (3.7). User-friendliness of the electronic medicine ordering system, easily accessible medicine information, and communication on drug shortages were mentioned as the areas most in need of improvement. <h3>Conclusion and relevance</h3> Although our survey showed that healthcare professionals and other specialists are generally satisfied with the hospital pharmacy service, there is room for improvement. We are planning to conduct the study in all Estonian hospital pharmacies with the aim of discovering the bottlenecks in pharmacy services throughout Estonia. This will enable the development of common standards and harmonise the provision of hospital pharmacy services. <h3>References and/or acknowledgements</h3> 1. The European Statements of Hospital Pharmacy. <i>Eur J Hosp Pharm</i> 2014;<b>21</b>:256–258. <h3>Conflict of interest</h3> No conflict of interest