Exploring stakeholders' perspectives on the quality of services provided through community pharmacies

Abstract

IntroductionIt is important to understand the factors impacting the quality of services provided through community pharmacies. Exploring how key stakeholders perceive good quality in these services is a logical first step. This could also inform the development of quality measures, such as quality indicators (QIs). AimTo identify key stakeholders' perspectives on the quality of services provided through community pharmacies in Norway, specifically by exploring their experiences and perceptions about what constitutes good service quality. MethodsA convenient sampling approach was used to recruit participants for five semi-structured focus groups from Facebook, pharmacy chains, and patient organizations. The interviews with twenty-six participants were conducted via Microsoft Teams. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and an inductive thematic analysis with a reflexive approach was used. ResultsFour main themes emerged from the analysis; 1) sufficient and substantively suitable information to cover individual needs, 2) communication skills and relationships with the pharmacy professionals, 3) customer satisfaction with knowledgeable employees and conveniently located pharmacies, and 4) factors that affect the pharmacy working environment. ConclusionThis study has identified areas that pharmacy professionals and customers regard as essential to define good quality of community pharmacy services. Effective communication skills, appropriate provision of information, customer satisfaction, and working environment are all essential factors when developing quality metrics for community pharmacies.