Patient satisfaction with a community pharmacist-managed system of repeat prescribing

Abstract

Background - A randomised controlled trial investigated a community pharmacist-managed system of repeat prescribing. Patients attended their general practitioner for a medication review at intervals of up to 12 months and were monitored on a monthly basis when collecting repeat medicines by a community pharmacist of their choice. Objective - To establish patient satisfaction with the pharmacist-managed repeat prescribing system, ie, whether they preferred to continue with this new system. Method - Questionnaires were sent to 2,667 subjects, 1,625 in the group who received their repeat medicines by the intervention method and 1,042 in the control group who continued to receive their medicines by the traditional system. Key findings - The response rate was 73 per cent. The baseline patient satisfaction with the traditional system of repeat prescribing was 88 per cent. However, the pharmacist-managed repeat prescribing was preferred to the traditional system by 81 per cent of intervention subjects, many of whom felt that the new prescribing system saved time and provided increased convenience. Reduced time and financial costs of obtaining repeat prescriptions influenced satisfaction. Many patients felt reassured by the increased clinical input provided by the community pharmacist. Patients in non-city communities showed greater preference for the new system than their city counterparts. Conclusion - Results indicate that this or a similar system of pharmacist-managed repeat prescribing may be preferred to the traditional method by many patients who are stabilised on regular medication obtained by repeat prescriptions.