Consumers’ Perception in Pharmacy Services in Three Cities in Indonesia

Abstract

Better health services have a strategic role and take part in public health improvement (Blum, 1974). Better quality of pharmacy service and pharmaceutical care may provide public needs and demands, ---which always change and increase, as well as reduce risks, and should be improved continually and be patient (consumer) oriented. To increase the quality of pharmacy service and pharmaceutical care, we need to know what the consumers impression about the pharmacy services they received currently and what the ideal pharmacy is according to consumers opinion. Consumer's impression to pharmacy services in this survey is assessed, based on tangibles dimension (physical facilities, men power etc.), reliability and responsiveness of the services, assurance and empathy. The consumer's impression is categorized as good and bad. Result: overall, 74.5% of consumers had a good impression about the pharmacy although pharmaceutical care they obtained had not yet complied with the community pharmacy standard. In three cities (Jakarta, Yogyakarta, and Makassar), pharmacy services and pharmaceutical care were still based on drug-oriented, and had not yet based on patient/consumer oriented. Pharmaceutical care which fulfilled the community pharmacy standard (such as drug information provided by pharmacist, counseling, medicine use monitoring and treatment evaluation, health promotion and education for patients), had not yet turn out to be a reason for consumers preference of a pharmacy.

Keywords

• pharmacy
• pharmaceutical care
• consumers’ perception