Patient Perceptions of Medication Access, Counseling, and Waiting Time in the Outpatient Department of Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center: Basis for the Establishment of an Outpatient Pharmacy
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65339/ijsair.V2.I2.616Keywords:
Patient Satisfaction, Outpatient Department, Medication Access, Medication Counseling, Waiting Time, Outpatient PharmacyAbstract
Patient satisfaction is an important indicator of healthcare quality because it reflects how patients experience access, communication, responsiveness, and efficiency during service delivery. This cross-sectional analytic study assessed patient satisfaction with medication-related services in the outpatient department of Rafael Lazatin Memorial Medical Center and identified service-related factors relevant to the planned establishment of an outpatient pharmacy. A total of 100 adult outpatient department patients were selected through systematic random sampling. Data were gathered using a structured and pretested questionnaire covering medication access, waiting time, staff courtesy and communication, medication-related counseling, service process, and physical environment. Descriptive statistics, independent-samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data, with statistical significance set at p < .05. Findings showed that the overall level of patient satisfaction was satisfactory (M = 3.69). Staff communication, medication-related explanation, staff courtesy, and overall service experience received favorable ratings, whereas waiting time obtained the lowest mean score and was interpreted as neutral. No significant differences in satisfaction were found when respondents were grouped according to sex (p = .497) or educational attainment (p = .345). Regression analysis identified medication counseling (β = 0.35, p = .001), access to prescribed medicines (β = 0.28, p = .004), and staff courtesy (β = 0.22, p = .010) as significant positive predictors of satisfaction, while waiting time was a significant negative predictor (β = -0.31, p = .002). The findings indicate that patient satisfaction is shaped more by service quality than by demographic characteristics. Establishing an outpatient pharmacy may improve medication accessibility, structured counseling, service coordination, and patient-centered care.
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