A Field Investigation of Speech Privacy Problems in Community Pharmacy

—I. Privacy Protection from the Pharmacists' Perspective—

Abstract

We investigate privacy-related problems in community pharmacies in an attempt to create an appropriate environment for information sharing between patients and medical workers in medical services. For this purpose, we conducted onsite investigations at 74 community pharmacies and telephone interviews with the pharmacists of 10 community pharmacies. At the site visits, an investigator interviewed pharmacists to determine how the lack of speech privacy affects patient counseling. In addition, a psychological experiment was performed to assess whether the investigator sitting in the patient waiting area could hear the conversation between a patient and a pharmacist. At 80% of the pharmacies, privacy protection for every patient was a priority. There were 77 instances of privacy problems or privacy-related claims, at 39% of the community pharmacies. The results of the experiment show that patient-pharmacist conversations can be overheard in the patient waiting area at 70% of the community pharmacies. The causes of privacy-related problems were physical environment (speech privacy), the social role of the pharmacist, and complex mechanisms like information-sharing practices within the medical system. These factors seem to influence each other, making it difficult to improve patient-centered care.