ABSTRACT
This national study was designed to identify the nature of the pharmacist-patient relationship by examining the attitudes of pharmacists. It was also designed to determine whether these attitudes were covenant or contract based and how demographic or situational variables contributed to these attitudes. The data concerning the pharmacists' attitudes were collected using a mail survey. Analysis of the data revealed that there were seven underlying dimensions to die pharmacists' attitudes toward the pharmacist-patient relationship. Pharmacists' relationships with patients seemed to rely heavily on practice motive and commitment to patients. Also, the covenant attitude seemed to increase as the pharmacists' education increased and as the work setting became more clinical. These conclusions are important in light of the American Pharmaceutical Association recommendation that pharmacists have a covenant-type relationship with patients.