1. Introduction Community pharmacies are businesses tha
Added on 2023-04-21
20 Pages11076 Words262 Views
1. Introduction
Community pharmacies are businesses that supply medicines in accordance with a prescription, or, when legally
permitted, sell them without a prescription to the general public (World Health Organization, 1994). In addition to
ensuring an accurate supply of appropriate products, their professional activities also cover counselling of patients
at the time of dispensing prescription and non-prescription drugs, providing drug information to health
professionals, patients and the general public, and participating in health-promotion programmes (World Health
Organization, 1994). Over the past 30 years, the evolution of the community pharmacy environment has placed
pharmacists in an ideal position to engage with consumers (Mirzaei et al, 2018). This has encouraged the practice of
patient-centred care provision, and this has now become a widespread health provision and marketing strategy
(Mirzaei et al, 2018).
Under the Medicines Act of 1968, a pharmacy can be registered by a pharmacist sole trader, a limited partnership
(where all partners are pharmacists), or bodies corporate (where a superintendent pharmacist must be appointed).
These are collectively known as pharmacy contractors. Community pharmacy contractors who own six or more
pharmacies are known as multiple contractors or pharmacy chains. Contractors owning more than 100 pharmacies
are known as “large multiples”; between six and 100 pharmacies are known as “small multiples”; and owning five
or less pharmacies are known as “independents” (Prescribing and Medicines Team, 2017).
Every day, about 1.6 million people visit a community pharmacy in England, and the net value of this market is now
estimated at around £3 billion annually, with a further £1.9 billion expected to accrue over the next 20 years
(Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, 2018). There are 11,699 community pharmacies in England (as at
31 March 2017), 1854 of which are located in London (in London, the density of community pharmacies is
increasing and stands at 1 pharmacy per 4762 inhabitants as at 31 March 2017 (calculated by author, based on data
available from Prescribing and Medicines Team (2017)). Of these, 37% are chain pharmacies owned by large
multiples (i.e. 686 large multiples chain pharmacies) (Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, 2018),
accounting for 61.6% of the market share within this geographical area (Sukkar, 2016).
Service quality has been considered as a critical success factor in the competitive market of service organizations
(Zeithaml et al., 1988). Various instruments have been developed to measure service quality in community
pharmacies, and extensive insight into customer perceptions of service quality has been drawn (Mirzaei et al,
2018). However, these instruments do not provide an understanding of what factors influence service quality from
the employees’ perspective (White & Klinner, 2012). This aspect is extremely important considering that what
determines the quality of the service provided in community pharmacies is the employees’ understanding of
customer expectations and their preparedness and ability to meet them and that if service quality is solely focused
on the customers’ perspective, it is likely that management will overlook the factors influencing service quality
from the employees’ perspective (White & Klinner, 2012). White & Klinner (2012) conducted a qualitative, inductive
study in Australia that shed light on this issue by use of Zeithaml et al. (1988) SERVQUAL to understand the factors
affecting community pharmacy staff that might affect the levels of service quality provided by staff. They found that
“from the pharmacy staff perspective, service quality is significantly limited by insufficient organisation-internal
communication and control processes which impede role clarity and the resolution of conflicting role expectations
among customer service staff” (White & Klinner, 2012). However, this study focused only on the pharmacy staff’s
perspective of service quality determinants and did not measure pharmacy customers’ perceptions of service
quality in the pharmacies where the data collection was conducted. To the best knowledge of the authors of this
document, no other study tried to replicate the methodology reported by White & Klinner (2012), or combined
data collection and analysis from both the employees and customers’ by use of the SERVQUAL scale proposed by
Parasuraman et al (1988) to measure pharmacies’ staff and management perception of the quality of the service
provided, and relate the two. This evidences an academic knowledge gap that justifies the project presented in this
document.
Page 1 of 20
Community pharmacies are businesses that supply medicines in accordance with a prescription, or, when legally
permitted, sell them without a prescription to the general public (World Health Organization, 1994). In addition to
ensuring an accurate supply of appropriate products, their professional activities also cover counselling of patients
at the time of dispensing prescription and non-prescription drugs, providing drug information to health
professionals, patients and the general public, and participating in health-promotion programmes (World Health
Organization, 1994). Over the past 30 years, the evolution of the community pharmacy environment has placed
pharmacists in an ideal position to engage with consumers (Mirzaei et al, 2018). This has encouraged the practice of
patient-centred care provision, and this has now become a widespread health provision and marketing strategy
(Mirzaei et al, 2018).
Under the Medicines Act of 1968, a pharmacy can be registered by a pharmacist sole trader, a limited partnership
(where all partners are pharmacists), or bodies corporate (where a superintendent pharmacist must be appointed).
These are collectively known as pharmacy contractors. Community pharmacy contractors who own six or more
pharmacies are known as multiple contractors or pharmacy chains. Contractors owning more than 100 pharmacies
are known as “large multiples”; between six and 100 pharmacies are known as “small multiples”; and owning five
or less pharmacies are known as “independents” (Prescribing and Medicines Team, 2017).
Every day, about 1.6 million people visit a community pharmacy in England, and the net value of this market is now
estimated at around £3 billion annually, with a further £1.9 billion expected to accrue over the next 20 years
(Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, 2018). There are 11,699 community pharmacies in England (as at
31 March 2017), 1854 of which are located in London (in London, the density of community pharmacies is
increasing and stands at 1 pharmacy per 4762 inhabitants as at 31 March 2017 (calculated by author, based on data
available from Prescribing and Medicines Team (2017)). Of these, 37% are chain pharmacies owned by large
multiples (i.e. 686 large multiples chain pharmacies) (Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, 2018),
accounting for 61.6% of the market share within this geographical area (Sukkar, 2016).
Service quality has been considered as a critical success factor in the competitive market of service organizations
(Zeithaml et al., 1988). Various instruments have been developed to measure service quality in community
pharmacies, and extensive insight into customer perceptions of service quality has been drawn (Mirzaei et al,
2018). However, these instruments do not provide an understanding of what factors influence service quality from
the employees’ perspective (White & Klinner, 2012). This aspect is extremely important considering that what
determines the quality of the service provided in community pharmacies is the employees’ understanding of
customer expectations and their preparedness and ability to meet them and that if service quality is solely focused
on the customers’ perspective, it is likely that management will overlook the factors influencing service quality
from the employees’ perspective (White & Klinner, 2012). White & Klinner (2012) conducted a qualitative, inductive
study in Australia that shed light on this issue by use of Zeithaml et al. (1988) SERVQUAL to understand the factors
affecting community pharmacy staff that might affect the levels of service quality provided by staff. They found that
“from the pharmacy staff perspective, service quality is significantly limited by insufficient organisation-internal
communication and control processes which impede role clarity and the resolution of conflicting role expectations
among customer service staff” (White & Klinner, 2012). However, this study focused only on the pharmacy staff’s
perspective of service quality determinants and did not measure pharmacy customers’ perceptions of service
quality in the pharmacies where the data collection was conducted. To the best knowledge of the authors of this
document, no other study tried to replicate the methodology reported by White & Klinner (2012), or combined
data collection and analysis from both the employees and customers’ by use of the SERVQUAL scale proposed by
Parasuraman et al (1988) to measure pharmacies’ staff and management perception of the quality of the service
provided, and relate the two. This evidences an academic knowledge gap that justifies the project presented in this
document.
Page 1 of 20
On practical level, the importance of this project mainly lies in the fact that, as early as in 1988, service quality has
been considered as a critical success factor in various service industries (Zeithaml et al., 1988) such as community
pharmacies. This has become increasingly significant over the years, as competition intensifies and customers’
expect higher levels of service quality. In the particular case of community pharmacies, it has been shown that
service quality is inherently related with customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Adoyo et al, 2012) and has
been claimed as one of the most important determinant of long-term financial performance, along with customer
loyalty which is highly dependent on service quality (Holdford, 2003; Nikolova et al, 2017; Castaldo et al, 2016). It is
invaluable to gain an understanding of the customer expectations of service quality in order to improve the service
accordingly (Nikolova et al, 2017) as improvement of service quality has been correlated with stronger relationships
with customers and creation of patron loyalty over time (Rabbanee et al, 2015; Singleton, 2013). However, in the
community pharmacy industry, what actually determines service quality is the difference between consumer
expectations of what constitutes good service quality and the pharmacy employees’ understanding of these
expectations and their preparedness and ability to meet those (White & Klinner, 2012). Therefore, one should not
focus solely on customers’ expectations and perception of service quality in order to improve service and achieve
competitive advantage, but also to correlate these expectations with the factors identified by employees’ which
may affect the provision of a service with quality at the level expected by customers.
This study was proposed in order to address the academic knowledge gap in light of the practical importance
identified in the paragraphs above. Its aim is to assess the relationship between the factors affecting service quality
from the employees’ perspective and the customers’ perception of service quality, in the context of the community
pharmacies of London.
In order to achieve the aim, the following research objectives have to be followed: to critically analyse different
conceptual models and theories of service quality (literature review); to measure the factors influencing service
quality from the employees’ perspective in selected pharmacies in London based on the SERVQUAL scale of service
quality, by applying a self-administered survey; to measure customers’ expectations and perceptions of service
quality in selected pharmacies of London by use of the SERVQUAL scale of service quality, by applying a self-
administered survey; to critically assess whether or not there is a relationship between customers’ perception of
service quality and the factors affecting service quality from the employees’ perspective; to propose
recommendations that assist London’s community pharmacies’ management teams in determining what main
factors affect the service quality from the employees’ and customers’ perspective and in reducing the existence and
the impact of factors negatively affecting the quality of the service provided.
From the aim and objectives of the study, there are one primary and three secondary research questions that have
to be answered based on the data collected. The primary research question is: Is there a relationship between the
factors affecting service quality from the employees’ perspective and the customers’ perception of service quality,
in the context of the community pharmacies of London?
The secondary questions are: What are the main factors impeding the provision of high quality service, from the
employee’s perspective, in the context of the community pharmacies of London?; From the customers’
perspective, what are the factors affecting the quality of the service provided, in the context of the community
pharmacies of London?; What action can be taken by management teams of the independent community
pharmacies of London, in order to minimize or eliminate existing factors negatively affecting staff’s understanding
and ability to meet customer expectations of service quality?.
For the primary research question, the research will confirm or reject the following hypotheses:
H0: There is no relationship between the factors affecting service quality from the employees’ perspective
and the customers’ perception of service quality, in the context of the community pharmacies of London.
H1: There is a relationship between the factors affecting service quality from the employees’ perspective
and the customers’ perception of service quality, in the context of the community pharmacies of London.
Page 2 of 20
been considered as a critical success factor in various service industries (Zeithaml et al., 1988) such as community
pharmacies. This has become increasingly significant over the years, as competition intensifies and customers’
expect higher levels of service quality. In the particular case of community pharmacies, it has been shown that
service quality is inherently related with customer satisfaction and customer loyalty (Adoyo et al, 2012) and has
been claimed as one of the most important determinant of long-term financial performance, along with customer
loyalty which is highly dependent on service quality (Holdford, 2003; Nikolova et al, 2017; Castaldo et al, 2016). It is
invaluable to gain an understanding of the customer expectations of service quality in order to improve the service
accordingly (Nikolova et al, 2017) as improvement of service quality has been correlated with stronger relationships
with customers and creation of patron loyalty over time (Rabbanee et al, 2015; Singleton, 2013). However, in the
community pharmacy industry, what actually determines service quality is the difference between consumer
expectations of what constitutes good service quality and the pharmacy employees’ understanding of these
expectations and their preparedness and ability to meet those (White & Klinner, 2012). Therefore, one should not
focus solely on customers’ expectations and perception of service quality in order to improve service and achieve
competitive advantage, but also to correlate these expectations with the factors identified by employees’ which
may affect the provision of a service with quality at the level expected by customers.
This study was proposed in order to address the academic knowledge gap in light of the practical importance
identified in the paragraphs above. Its aim is to assess the relationship between the factors affecting service quality
from the employees’ perspective and the customers’ perception of service quality, in the context of the community
pharmacies of London.
In order to achieve the aim, the following research objectives have to be followed: to critically analyse different
conceptual models and theories of service quality (literature review); to measure the factors influencing service
quality from the employees’ perspective in selected pharmacies in London based on the SERVQUAL scale of service
quality, by applying a self-administered survey; to measure customers’ expectations and perceptions of service
quality in selected pharmacies of London by use of the SERVQUAL scale of service quality, by applying a self-
administered survey; to critically assess whether or not there is a relationship between customers’ perception of
service quality and the factors affecting service quality from the employees’ perspective; to propose
recommendations that assist London’s community pharmacies’ management teams in determining what main
factors affect the service quality from the employees’ and customers’ perspective and in reducing the existence and
the impact of factors negatively affecting the quality of the service provided.
From the aim and objectives of the study, there are one primary and three secondary research questions that have
to be answered based on the data collected. The primary research question is: Is there a relationship between the
factors affecting service quality from the employees’ perspective and the customers’ perception of service quality,
in the context of the community pharmacies of London?
The secondary questions are: What are the main factors impeding the provision of high quality service, from the
employee’s perspective, in the context of the community pharmacies of London?; From the customers’
perspective, what are the factors affecting the quality of the service provided, in the context of the community
pharmacies of London?; What action can be taken by management teams of the independent community
pharmacies of London, in order to minimize or eliminate existing factors negatively affecting staff’s understanding
and ability to meet customer expectations of service quality?.
For the primary research question, the research will confirm or reject the following hypotheses:
H0: There is no relationship between the factors affecting service quality from the employees’ perspective
and the customers’ perception of service quality, in the context of the community pharmacies of London.
H1: There is a relationship between the factors affecting service quality from the employees’ perspective
and the customers’ perception of service quality, in the context of the community pharmacies of London.
Page 2 of 20
In confirming or rejecting the hypothesis identified above, this study will provide insight into aspects which are
likely to assist London’s community pharmacies management teams in achieving competitive advantage, by
identification of the main factors affecting the provision of high quality service from the employee’s perspective;
identification of the main factors influencing customers perception of the pharmacies’ service quality; assessing
whether or not there is a relationship between customers’ perception of service quality and the factors affecting
service quality from the employees’ perspective, in the context of the community pharmacies of London; and
understanding what action, if any, can be taken by management in order to eliminate factors negatively affecting
employees’ understanding and ability to meet customer expectations of service quality.
This document follows a standard dissertation structure. Following this introductory chapter, the literature review
on key concepts relating to service quality is presented along with a description of key models and a justification for
the chosen conceptual model for this study. In chapter three, the research methodology is presented in line with
the research onion proposed by Saunders et al (2016). In chapter four the results of the data collection is presented
and in chapter five the research discussion presents relevant findings upon data analysis, recommendations for key
stakeholders and identifies the limitations of this study. Chapter six closes the document with a conclusion
reconciling the main aspects of the study.
2. Literature review
2.1. Introduction
Community pharmacies are an integral part of the healthcare industry in England. The service quality of the
community pharmacies is an important feature that controls the overall outcome in the health industry as the
owners and the employees of the community pharmacies perform many responsibilities out of their expertise.
Along with selling drugs and medications without prescriptions they are also involved in counselling the customers
and the patients coming to the pharmacy store, maintaining proper supply of products to the patients with or
without prescription, participating in the health related promotions and delivering information about the drugs
they are selling (WHO, 1994). The service they are providing sometimes meet the expectation of the customers but
sometimes does not. The information and research regarding service quality of the employees of community
pharmacies is not adequate. Service quality depends on the customer expectation and the understanding of service
of the service providers like the employees and the store management. Perspective of the customer and the
employees may differ affecting the service quality. Understanding the customer perspective and meeting their
expectation can be beneficial for the service quality. The management needs to communicate with the employees
running the store to bridge the gap between the customer expectation and understanding of service of the
employee. The internal communication is sometimes not adequate and that poses a challenge to the employees.
Added to that patients and the customers are more health conscious and informed about medicines nowadays that
changes their level of expectation. They demand best service from the pharmacy stores from where not only they
can acquire drugs but also get advice and counselling from the employees. This has created a tough competition in
the market where all the community pharmacies are trying to satisfy the customers to the best of their abilities.
With this growing market which values £3 billion annually the numbers of these community pharmacy stores are
also increasing though the customer base is not increasing at the same rate. The pharmacy stores are applying the
strategy where they can function in a duel role to maximise their business profit. This strategy involves providing all
the essential medicine to the customers as a retailer and pleasing the customers at the same time with added
healthcare service (Mehralian and Babapour 2016). This is where measuring the service quality of the community
pharmacy stores become quite important. Service features like official hours, communication and information in
the store and with the customers, shorter processing time for prescription, precise medicine availability in the
store, reasonable pricing and payment convenience add to the quality of service. The gulf between customer
expectation and understanding of the pharmacy employee decides the actual service quality in the community
pharmacy stores. As the preparedness and competency of the employee to meet the consumer expectation is
evaluated by different models the internal communication is a crucial prospect along with determining the service
Page 3 of 20
likely to assist London’s community pharmacies management teams in achieving competitive advantage, by
identification of the main factors affecting the provision of high quality service from the employee’s perspective;
identification of the main factors influencing customers perception of the pharmacies’ service quality; assessing
whether or not there is a relationship between customers’ perception of service quality and the factors affecting
service quality from the employees’ perspective, in the context of the community pharmacies of London; and
understanding what action, if any, can be taken by management in order to eliminate factors negatively affecting
employees’ understanding and ability to meet customer expectations of service quality.
This document follows a standard dissertation structure. Following this introductory chapter, the literature review
on key concepts relating to service quality is presented along with a description of key models and a justification for
the chosen conceptual model for this study. In chapter three, the research methodology is presented in line with
the research onion proposed by Saunders et al (2016). In chapter four the results of the data collection is presented
and in chapter five the research discussion presents relevant findings upon data analysis, recommendations for key
stakeholders and identifies the limitations of this study. Chapter six closes the document with a conclusion
reconciling the main aspects of the study.
2. Literature review
2.1. Introduction
Community pharmacies are an integral part of the healthcare industry in England. The service quality of the
community pharmacies is an important feature that controls the overall outcome in the health industry as the
owners and the employees of the community pharmacies perform many responsibilities out of their expertise.
Along with selling drugs and medications without prescriptions they are also involved in counselling the customers
and the patients coming to the pharmacy store, maintaining proper supply of products to the patients with or
without prescription, participating in the health related promotions and delivering information about the drugs
they are selling (WHO, 1994). The service they are providing sometimes meet the expectation of the customers but
sometimes does not. The information and research regarding service quality of the employees of community
pharmacies is not adequate. Service quality depends on the customer expectation and the understanding of service
of the service providers like the employees and the store management. Perspective of the customer and the
employees may differ affecting the service quality. Understanding the customer perspective and meeting their
expectation can be beneficial for the service quality. The management needs to communicate with the employees
running the store to bridge the gap between the customer expectation and understanding of service of the
employee. The internal communication is sometimes not adequate and that poses a challenge to the employees.
Added to that patients and the customers are more health conscious and informed about medicines nowadays that
changes their level of expectation. They demand best service from the pharmacy stores from where not only they
can acquire drugs but also get advice and counselling from the employees. This has created a tough competition in
the market where all the community pharmacies are trying to satisfy the customers to the best of their abilities.
With this growing market which values £3 billion annually the numbers of these community pharmacy stores are
also increasing though the customer base is not increasing at the same rate. The pharmacy stores are applying the
strategy where they can function in a duel role to maximise their business profit. This strategy involves providing all
the essential medicine to the customers as a retailer and pleasing the customers at the same time with added
healthcare service (Mehralian and Babapour 2016). This is where measuring the service quality of the community
pharmacy stores become quite important. Service features like official hours, communication and information in
the store and with the customers, shorter processing time for prescription, precise medicine availability in the
store, reasonable pricing and payment convenience add to the quality of service. The gulf between customer
expectation and understanding of the pharmacy employee decides the actual service quality in the community
pharmacy stores. As the preparedness and competency of the employee to meet the consumer expectation is
evaluated by different models the internal communication is a crucial prospect along with determining the service
Page 3 of 20
quality with different models. Measuring the service quality with different models and finding the suitable model
for evaluating is the main objective of this study.
2.2. Definitions and discussions about the key terms in service quality:
Every industry requires to focus on their customer service quality to sustain and grow their business
profitability. Community pharmacies of England have grown exponentially in number in the last decade (Robinson
2019). Most of them are concentrated in London. Service quality has different features and aspects which are
required to meet the consumer expectation. Community pharmacy service can be divided into two aspects. One is
their technical service related to proper drug availability, counselling and drug advising facility. Other is the
functional aspect related to time convenience, processing speed, warm behaviour and reasonable pricing (Bradley
et al. 2013). Combination of both should be measured to evaluate service quality of a pharmacy store especially in
England. Some of the customers prefer precise information about drugs and they prefer the technical aspect of
servicing while some prefer to visit a pharmacy store with smooth functional service availability. In England patients
prefer community pharmacy stores over larger pharmaceutical chains as they feel more comfortable
communicating with the employees because of the familiarity aspects. This is especially applicable to the older
people in the society. Although during large consumption of drugs some customers prefer larger pharmaceutical
stores because of better insurance assurance. Community pharmacies in London have their specific set of customer
base and sometimes their expectations are difficult to fulfil for a community pharmacy as they have lack of internal
communication. They do not have a management team to guide the employees and set a specific goal about their
servicing. Even if they have a management the managers do not communicate with the employees. So it becomes
herculean for the employees to meet the customer expectations. Some of the crucial features of the service quality
are discussed in the following:
Internal communication
Communication in the organization is a very important feature to the service quality in the community
pharmacies. The management needs to focus on the customer feedback and communicate it to the employees to
guide the employees on their roles. This helps the employees to understand the consumer expectation better and
act accordingly (Hann et al. 2017). At the same time motivating employees by sharing about any great experience
related to customer service can be a tool for communication which can make them more emphatic which is a key
aspect n community pharmacies.
Clarity of roles
Clarity is important in the community pharmacy services as they sometimes deal with patients with critical
illness. Besides that the retailer need to be very specific about their drug storage. Recommending drugs without
prescriptions is a common practice in these stores where clarity plays a huge role. The employees should be very
cautious about their roles and for that management needs to be precise about the job role specifications of the
hired employees. If they set a blueprint for consumer service and allocate specific roles and responsibilities the
employees will have greater clarity about their servicing roles.
Education of the employees
Employees in the community pharmacies need to have basic information of the drugs they are dealing with as
they deal with lot of non-prescribed drug selling. Any fault in drug counselling can have serious patient related
outcomes which can be life threatening. This will be detrimental to the business in short term basis. Educating
employees about the market and customer dealings will be beneficial to the business as they can decide about the
pricing of the drugs based on the market situation at that point of time.
Accountability of responsibility
Employees in the community pharmacies need to be responsible about their job responsibilities. As they have
dual responsibilities in retailing and counselling they have to be precise about their job. Even if they commit a
mistake they should be honest and be accountable for that so that they do not repeat the mistake in future.
Page 4 of 20
for evaluating is the main objective of this study.
2.2. Definitions and discussions about the key terms in service quality:
Every industry requires to focus on their customer service quality to sustain and grow their business
profitability. Community pharmacies of England have grown exponentially in number in the last decade (Robinson
2019). Most of them are concentrated in London. Service quality has different features and aspects which are
required to meet the consumer expectation. Community pharmacy service can be divided into two aspects. One is
their technical service related to proper drug availability, counselling and drug advising facility. Other is the
functional aspect related to time convenience, processing speed, warm behaviour and reasonable pricing (Bradley
et al. 2013). Combination of both should be measured to evaluate service quality of a pharmacy store especially in
England. Some of the customers prefer precise information about drugs and they prefer the technical aspect of
servicing while some prefer to visit a pharmacy store with smooth functional service availability. In England patients
prefer community pharmacy stores over larger pharmaceutical chains as they feel more comfortable
communicating with the employees because of the familiarity aspects. This is especially applicable to the older
people in the society. Although during large consumption of drugs some customers prefer larger pharmaceutical
stores because of better insurance assurance. Community pharmacies in London have their specific set of customer
base and sometimes their expectations are difficult to fulfil for a community pharmacy as they have lack of internal
communication. They do not have a management team to guide the employees and set a specific goal about their
servicing. Even if they have a management the managers do not communicate with the employees. So it becomes
herculean for the employees to meet the customer expectations. Some of the crucial features of the service quality
are discussed in the following:
Internal communication
Communication in the organization is a very important feature to the service quality in the community
pharmacies. The management needs to focus on the customer feedback and communicate it to the employees to
guide the employees on their roles. This helps the employees to understand the consumer expectation better and
act accordingly (Hann et al. 2017). At the same time motivating employees by sharing about any great experience
related to customer service can be a tool for communication which can make them more emphatic which is a key
aspect n community pharmacies.
Clarity of roles
Clarity is important in the community pharmacy services as they sometimes deal with patients with critical
illness. Besides that the retailer need to be very specific about their drug storage. Recommending drugs without
prescriptions is a common practice in these stores where clarity plays a huge role. The employees should be very
cautious about their roles and for that management needs to be precise about the job role specifications of the
hired employees. If they set a blueprint for consumer service and allocate specific roles and responsibilities the
employees will have greater clarity about their servicing roles.
Education of the employees
Employees in the community pharmacies need to have basic information of the drugs they are dealing with as
they deal with lot of non-prescribed drug selling. Any fault in drug counselling can have serious patient related
outcomes which can be life threatening. This will be detrimental to the business in short term basis. Educating
employees about the market and customer dealings will be beneficial to the business as they can decide about the
pricing of the drugs based on the market situation at that point of time.
Accountability of responsibility
Employees in the community pharmacies need to be responsible about their job responsibilities. As they have
dual responsibilities in retailing and counselling they have to be precise about their job. Even if they commit a
mistake they should be honest and be accountable for that so that they do not repeat the mistake in future.
Page 4 of 20
End of preview
Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.
Related Documents
Unit 3 Personal Development for Pharmacy Technicianslg...
|7
|1400
|468
Telepharmacy: A Pharmacist's Perspective on the Clinical Benefits and Challengeslg...
|17
|4673
|435
Better Future Initiative in Pharmaceutical | Analysislg...
|11
|2752
|24
The Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme and the Consumption of Medicines in Australialg...
|13
|2585
|421
Controversy Related to the Use of Sedative Medicationslg...
|12
|3231
|25
Quality Assurance vs Quality Controllg...
|5
|643
|19