Service quality in public and private pharmacies in the city of Kragujevac, fr Yugoslavia.

AIM To compare the service quality in public and private pharmacies in the city of Kragujevac by measuring patient care and health facility indicators. METHODS The patient care indicators and health facility indicators, established by the World Health Organization in 1995, were measured prospectively in 7 public and 7 private pharmacies in Kragujevac, Yugoslavia, during November and December 1999. A sample of 100 patient-visits was analyzed in each pharmacy. RESULTS Our study showed that the average drug dispensing time ranged from 20.5 to 48.2 seconds, being significantly longer in private (21.1-48.2 s) than in public pharmacies (20.5-33.7 s) (F=13.12, p<0.001). The percentage of actually dispensed drugs ranged from 29% to 63%, and no significant difference was found between public and private pharmacies. Patients' knowledge of a correct dosage ranged from 30% to 74% and the availability of key drugs ranged from 67% to 93% with no significant difference between public and private pharmacies. There was serious negligence in labeling the dispensed drugs in both public and private pharmacies: not a single drug package was labeled according to the World Health Organization recommendations. Key drugs were highly available in both public and private pharmacies. CONCLUSION The average drug dispensing time was too short for a proper interaction between a pharmacist and a patient in both public and private pharmacies. The results of our study suggest that there was no real difference in the service quality between the public and the private pharmacies.