Older adults’ perceived importance of the Consumer Experience with Pharmacy Services Survey (CEPSS)
| Objective | Perceptions | Sample quotations |
|---|---|---|
| Importance of the CEPSS | The CEPSS may help in avoiding worst providers and choosing the best pharmacies. | “It rules out the worst case scenarios for you. If you’ve got eight to pick from, I would go with the top three…I wouldn’t do the one that has poor, poor, poor, on the categories so that way at least you can narrow the field down.” |
| The quality domains may confirm older adults’ experience with their pharmacy. | “It might change my perceptions of where I’m going…or it might confirm that I am where I want to be, however they are rated on these various things.” | |
| Perceived importance of specific CEPSS domains | Health and medication-focused communication (HMC) is the most important quality domain that would prompt older adults to switch pharmacies. | “I like information…and if you can’t talk to me, especially about the interaction between medications, then I have no reason to go to that pharmacy.” “The reason I go to the pharmacy is to get medicine, and if I go to get my medicine, I want the communication to be perfect…I want them to tell me how long and when I should take it. I want all the information about my medication before I take it. So, I said [HMC], because it's the real reason I’m in there. I came to you for medication, I want everything explained to me.” “I’m already sick and what I put in my body—It's so important that it can change or alter me in a negative way. So, I agree with the young lady right here, because she's right you know, I’m sick. I can’t get any sicker. So, I want to heal. So the health and medication-focused communication. I want to know what I’m taking. What it does to me, the side effects, how it’s going to help me, whether side effects or no side effects, how long I have to take it, the longevity. Do I have to take it the rest of my life? Do I have to take it for a short period of time? And as long as it's communicated to me, I’m good to go.” |
| HMC is important compared to other CEPSS domains. | “…the medication related communication. That’s what you’re going to the drug store for. The rest of the stuff you can put up with or find someplace else, as in written communication.” “Yeah, that for me is just essential. If I can’t get my medication related questions addressed and answered by the pharmacist, the rest of that stuff doesn’t even rise to the top. I can deal with a staff who doesn't communicate well…I can, you know, the rest of that, I still am at a point where I can deal with. But, if I’m not getting that communication about what's being sold to me for my health, I’m out of there.” | |
| Pharmacy staff communication (PSC) is the most important quality domain that would prompt older adults to switch pharmacies. | “If you treat me with disrespect, I don’t think I’m going to be a very good customer. Like I said before, I'm spending my money…I am not used to spending my money when I have to be treated like a dog!” “It helps if the staff would greet people with a smile and courtesy at all times…If you’re having a bad day and you work with this pharmacy, you really got a portion of my life in your hands. You’re filling my prescription here. So don’t be angry while you’re filling my meds, you may throw the wrong thing in there…it just helps to be courteous. If I'm a confused old lady and I don’t understand this medicine and I’m confusing you, please call your manager and have her explain to me. Just treat that person with respect first.” “…I left my old pharmacies for the same reason as number 2 [PSC]…I would really like to feel comfortable while I’m at a place and I’d like to know that the people know who I am and what I’m there for. Getting lost in the shuffle, I ain’t down with that. If you can’t talk to me and call me by name or a number or something, there's definitely going to be change.” | |
| PSC is important compared with other CEPSS domains. | “…I don’t count on the pharmacist as the expert about my health. And, if I have a medication-related communication, I might ask the pharmacist but I’m more likely to look it up online or go through My Chart with my general practitioner. But, being treated with respect by the pharmacy staff is very important.” | |
| Clarity of written information (CWI) is the most important quality domain that would prompt older adults to switch pharmacies. | “I would want to make sure that…they have my prescriptions correctly labeled and written and also that, when they give me information on how to take that prescription and how it would react with other medicines, you want that to be correct…it gives me an understanding about my medication…you know, what shape and color the pill is….” “I would change just for that reason [CWI], yes, because that's important to me. My medication is why I'm there in the first place. I want the correct information about it. So, yes that would make me change, if they didn’t have that straight.” | |
| Pharmacy care is the most important quality domain that would prompt older adults to switch pharmacies. | “The pharmacy care is very important for me, because with the interaction [with the pharmacist] you can do other things that are related to my condition and then the concern of the staff for my condition; I think that pharmacy care is the most important for me.” | |
| Pharmacy care is important compared to other CEPSS domains. | “…that's [pharmacy care] going to cover everything, the care from my pharmacist, my interaction with my pharmacist, everything with the pharmacist is going to cover my medication, communication…if that was not up to par, if that was really poor-quality low, then that would cause me to go elsewhere.” |