Drugstore Owners' Opinions on Drugstore Standards of the Pharmacy Council : A Nation-wide Survey

Abstract

This descriptive study was aimed at understanding drugstore owners' opinion on Drugstore standards of the Pharmacy Council. The study was divided into two phases. Phase 1 consisted of a survey by post of drugstores throughout Thailand. Phase 2 was in-depth interviews with three purposively selected drugstore owners who had not enrolled on Community Pharmacy Development and Accreditation Program. The data were collected between April and September 2004. Three thousand two hundred and forty drugstores participated in the survey. The majority (2,806; 87.0%) of the respondents were the owner of the stores. The response rate of drugstore owners was 24.85 percent. The survey indicated that the vast majority of drugstore owners found the standards problematic. Among them, Standard 2.2 Quality Process was rated the most difficult to comprehend, the least implemented at the moment, and the most unlikely that the stores will adopt in the future. This was followed by Standard 3.2 the Provision of Pharmacy Services, especially “information on the medicine pouch" and "patient medication profile.” The following in-depth interviews confirmed these findings. The owners were reluctant to enroll on the program because of lack of financial incentives and failure to understand the meaning of Standards. The most problematic items were Standards 2.2 and 3.2. The results warrant urgent actions of the Pharmacy Council and the Food and Drug Administration to promote and familiarize drugstore owners with these standards. In addition, positive reinforcement and supports need to be incorporated to persuade drug stores to enroll on the program.