Patient attitudes towards a new role for pharmacists: continued dispensing

Figures & data

Figure 1 Distribution of respondents by their state or territory of residence in Australia.

Table 1 Respondents’ characteristics

Characteristic	Responses	Number	Percentage
Had other medical conditions	No	60.8	183
	Yes	38.5	116
	Prefer not to disclose	0.7	2.0
Approximate number of occasions in past 12 months when respondents reported running out of their medication	0	188	62.5
	1	52	17.3
	2	33	11.0
	>2	25	8.3
	Prefer not to disclose	3	1.0
If impractical to see usual doctor, action taken by respondents to acquire further medication supply	Nil, stop treatment	40	35.4
	Ask pharmacist	37	33.6
	See after hours doctor	8	7.1
	See another doctor	17	15.0
	Borrow	4	3.5
	Other	5	4.4
	Prefer not to disclose	1	0.9
Regular customer of a pharmacy	No	42	14.0
	Yes	259	86.0

Table 2 Respondents’ perceptions of concern and risk

Question	Response	Number	Percentage
Do you have any concerns regards CD?	No	269	89.4
	Yes	30	10.0
	Prefer not to disclose	2	0.7
Reasons for lack of concern	Pharmacists know if it is safe or not to take an additional supply when I run out of my medication	219	72.8
	The pharmacist will refer me to the doctor if needed	177	58.8
	Pharmacists are easier to access than doctors	171	57
	Reduce work load of my doctor	141	47.2
	It saves my time	167	55.5
	It makes me not miss any dose of my medicine	160	53.2
	All of the above	147	48.8
	Other	19	6.3
	Prefer not to disclose	4	1.3
Reasons for concern	Lack of privacy in the pharmacy	6	20
	Pharmacist has no access to my health records	10	33.3
	All of the above	6	20
	Other	8	26.7
	Prefer not to disclose	1	0.3
Do you believe CD poses any risk?	No	267	88.7
	Yes	15	5.0
	Prefer not to disclose	19	6.3

Abbreviation: CD, continued dispensing.

Figure 2 Proportion of respondents (n=301) who fully supported continued dispensing (ie, disagreed with both Q16 and Q20).

Notes: Q16, Perceived concerns to discuss health issues with the pharmacist when providing an additional supply; and Q20, Perceived risks for pharmacists providing an additional supply of medication without a valid prescription.
Abbreviation: Q, question.