Abstract
In June 2003, we assessed work volume of a one-pharmacist pharmacy by means of the work sampling method, and the content of the work performed by the pharmacist in each time period was then analyzed. A questionnaire survey of patients was conducted in July 2004, and the degree of satisfaction in each time period was analyzed. Results of the work volume measurement revealed that the bulk of prescriptions were concentrated in the morning hours, when the amount of discretionary time on the part of the pharmacist was extremely limited. Results also showed that the degree of patient satisfaction was low during this busy morning period. This drop in perceived level of service should be preventable by means of an improvement in ratings of waiting time and patient compliance instruction, which have been linked to patients' degree of satisfaction with pharmacy use. However, because it is difficult to reduce dispensing time when only one pharmacist in on duty, improvement of patient perception of service level will entail taking steps to improve the environment so as to mitigate the psychological distress of waiting.
