Development and validation of the Attitudes to Pharmacist Services for Diabetes Scale (APSDS)

Development and validation of an Ambulatory Care Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire to assess pharmacy services in Malaysia

Background Assessing patient satisfaction regarding a pharmacy ambulatory care service is important as patient satisfaction is a determinant of the viability and sustainability of the service provided. Objective To develop and validate the Ambulatory Care Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire in Malaysia. Setting A public hospital in Malaysia with two outpatient pharmacies. The main outpatient pharmacy has an average waiting time of 1-2 h; whilst PharmCARE (which prepares repeat prescriptions in advance) has an average waiting time of 5-15 min. Method Our instrument was developed based on literature review, a theoretical framework and an expert panel. The initial version consisted of 20 Likert-type items (where a higher score indicates higher satisfaction) was administered to patients/carers who were ≥ 21 years, from November 2015 to June 2016 at baseline and 2 weeks later. Main outcome measure The psychometric properties of the instrument. Results A total of 200/220 participants agreed to participate (response rate = 90.9%): main outpatient pharmacy = 114, PharmCARE = 86. Flesch reading ease was 51.9. The final version consists of 17 items with five domains measuring information (4 items), accessibility (4 items), relationship (4 items), outcomes (2 items) and continuity of care (3 items). Participants who collected their medications from PharmCARE [78.0% (72.8-81.3)] were significantly more satisfied than participants from the main outpatient pharmacy [72.0% (68.0-76.0), p < 0.001]. The overall Cronbach's alpha value was 0.839. Kappa values ranged from 0.681 to 0.914. Conclusion Our instrument was found to be a valid and reliable instrument to assess satisfaction of patients towards an ambulatory care pharmacy service in Malaysia.

Supporting self-management of type 2 diabetes: is there a role for the community pharmacist?

BACKGROUND

Evidence supports the efficacy of pharmacy services in type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, little is known about consumer perspectives on the role of community pharmacists in diabetes care. The objectives of this study were to identify potential unmet needs and explore preferences for pharmacist-delivered support for T2D.

METHODS

A qualitative study using focus groups was conducted in Sydney, Australia. Patients with T2D who were members of the Australian Diabetes Council in Sydney, Australia, were recruited through a survey on medication use in T2D. Five focus groups with a total of 32 consumers with T2D were recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed.

RESULTS

The key themes were 1) the experiences of diabetes services received, 2) the potential to deliver self-management services, and 3) the suggested role of pharmacist in supporting diabetes management. Gaps in understanding and some degree of nonadherence to self-management signaled a potential for self-management support delivered by pharmacists. However, consumers still perceive that the main role of pharmacists in diabetes care centers on drug management services, with some enhancements to support adherence and continuity of supply. Barriers to diabetes care services included time constraints and a perceived lack of interest by pharmacists.

CONCLUSION

Given the unmet needs in diabetes self-management, opportunities exist for pharmacists to be involved in diabetes care. The challenge is for pharmacists to upgrade their diabetes knowledge and skills, organize their workflow, and become proactive in delivering diabetes care support.