Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Aug 22:11:117-126.
doi: 10.2147/IPRP.S375155. eCollection 2022.

Assessment of Pharmaceutical Service Quality Provided in Community Drug Retail Outlets in Selected Towns, South West Ethiopia

Fitsum Demissie  1 , Henok Buno  1 , Getahun Paulos  2
Affiliations

Assessment of Pharmaceutical Service Quality Provided in Community Drug Retail Outlets in Selected Towns, South West Ethiopia

Fitsum Demissie et al. Integr Pharm Res Pract. .

Abstract

Background: Inappropriate pharmaceutical services may result in unsafe, ineffective, and poor-quality treatment. This practice ultimately will lead to prolonged illness, suffering and damage to the patient and an increase in the cost of treatment. This study aims to assess the activities of pharmacy professionals and the pharmaceutical service quality given in community drug retail outlets of selected towns, Southern Ethiopia.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on all drug retail outlets working in Adola, Bule Hora, Dilla, and Yabelo towns, southern Ethiopia from October 1 to November 30, 2021, by interview through self- structured questionnaires and participant observations of the dispensing process.

Results: A total of 46 (100%) dispensers participated. Out of which 18 (39.13%) respondents were from Dilla town, 11 (23.91%) were from Adola, 8 (17.39%) were from Bule Hora and 9 (19.57%) were from Yabelo town. Standard Reference Books 21 (45.7%) and Internet 20 (43.5%) were used as drug information sources by pharmacy professionals to get the latest facts about medicines. The leading causes of a dispensing error were incomplete prescription (54.34%) and illegible prescription (30.43%) from the prescriber. The errors were managed by communicating with patients (23, 50%), and prescribers (18, 39.13%). There was a high frequency of dispensing prescription drugs without prescription paper.

Conclusion: The study revealed that less than half of the respondents use standard reference books and the internet as their drug information sources. Incomplete prescriptions from the prescribers were found to be the leading cause of dispensing errors. Dispensing of prescription drugs without receiving an order from a prescriber remains a common problem. Therefore, extensive work from regulatory authorities and pharmacy professionals is required to improve the quality of pharmaceutical services provided in drug retail outlets.

Keywords: Adola; Bule-Hora; Dilla; Yabelo; community; quality service; retail outlets.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declared no conflicts of interest in relation to this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Types of prescription errors encountered during the dispensing process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Prescription errors managed by the intervention of pharmacy professionals in study towns.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Frequency of dispensing prescription drugs without prescriptions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. World Health Organization. Delivering quality health services: a global imperative; 2019. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789241513906. Accessed January 13, 2022.
    1. Chen Z, Yu J, Song Y, Chui D. Aging Beijing: challenges and strategies of health care for the elderly. Ageing Res Rev. 2010;9:S2–S5. doi:10.1016/j.arr.2010.07.001 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Melton BL, Lai Z. Review of community pharmacy services: what is being performed, and where are the opportunities for improvement? Integr Pharm Res Pract. 2017;6:79–89. doi:10.2147/IPRP.S107612 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Goode J-V, Owen J, Page A, Gatewood S. Community-based pharmacy practice innovation and the role of the community-based pharmacist practitioner in the United States. Pharm. 2019;7(3):106. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Palaian S, Alomar M, Hassan N, Boura F. Opportunities for extended community pharmacy services in the United Arab Emirates: perception, practice, perceived barriers and willingness among community pharmacists. J Pharm Policy Pract. 2022;15(1):1–10. doi:10.1186/s40545-022-00418-y - DOI - PMC - PubMed