@article{ajmsm2021922,
author={{Sharif, Suleiman Ibrahim and Mohamed, Esra Moustafa},
title={Public Perception Regarding Practice, and Barriers towards Pharmacist Counseling in the Community Pharmacy},
journal={American Journal of Medical Sciences and Medicine},
volume={9},
number={2},
pages={43--47},
year={2021},
url={http://pubs.sciepub.com/ajmsm/9/2/2},
issn={2327-6657},
abstract={<b>Background:</b> The role of the pharmacist includes an effective informative counseling with the patient. Pharmacists should practice delivery of patient-centered services and patients should know their rights for proper counseling. <b>Objectives:</b> To assess patient¡¯s perception and attitude towards counseling in the community pharmacy. <b>Methods:</b> The cross sectional study employed an anonymous questionnaire with closed ended questions, written in English and Arabic and posted online.  <b>Results:</b> Only 362 participants responded within the specified period. The majority (314, 86.7%) of participants were females, age range of 17-24 years (238, 66%), Arabs (354, 98%), and single (234, 64.6%). Participant¡¯s visits to the pharmacy were 2-4 times (120, 33.1%) and > 10 times (107, 29.6%) annually. The main reason of these visits was to obtain medications (248, 68.5%). Large number of participants ask about the dose (278, 77%) and frequency of administration and duration of use (238, 65.7%), while only 91 (25.1%) of participants ask about side effects. Surprisingly, 182 (50.3%) of the participants admitted not asking about side effects. Reasons of participants not asking for information include getting these from the prescribing physician (204, 56.4%) and having earlier experience (175, 48.3%) with the medication. Sources of information were mainly the physician (262, 72.4%) followed by the pharmacist (220, 60.8%). Participants who consult a physician when feeling ill comprised 146 (40.3%) and a few consult the pharmacist (64, 17.7%). <b>Conclusion:</b> In UAE, the usual practice in most community pharmacies is product- rather than patient-centered and such a perception negatively influences patient¡¯s satisfaction with community pharmacy services.},
doi={10.12691/ajmsm-9-2-2}
publisher={Science and Education Publishing}
}