gms | German Medical Science

Context: Quality assurance of community pharmacy (CP) services has been a major concern of the State chambers of pharmacists. Numerous guidelines involving patient counselling have been issued. The pseudo customer (PsC) methodology has been used nationwide to implement these guidelines in CP’s daily practice. Immediate performance feedback with coaching after the PsC visit is a strategy to improve counselling skills in a natural environment.

Aim of the study: To examine the effect of the PsC methodology on counselling performance in Saxonian CP.

Material and method: 200/976 randomly selected CP were visited twice within 6 months. The PsC asked for advice on 1 of 4 different randomly assigned self-medication scenarios (each n=50) using the same scenario for both visits. Documentation of the counselling process was done directly after each visit outside the CP. Then, the PsC re-entered the CP and offered feedback to the counsellor and to the pharmacist in charge. After the 2^nd visit, counselling willingness and quality were evaluated and compared to the results of the 1^st visit. Evaluation of counselling quality was done in 4 categories depending on the amount and type of questions and information given.

Results: Both, counselling willingness and quality improved for all 4 scenarios: headache, vaginal mycosis, venous insufficiency, constipation.

Willingness: Depending on the scenario, between 30 (60%) and 41 out of 50 (82%) CP offered counselling voluntarily during the 1^st visits. During the 2^nd visits, counselling willingness increased to at least 44 (88%) and at most 46 (92%) CP. In total, the number of CP offering voluntary counselling increased from 147 to 179 (p<0,001).

Quality: During the 1^st visits, between 9 (18%) and 33 out of 50 (66%) of the CP achieved “extensive” or “adequate” results while during the 2^nd visits, at least 31 (62%) and at most 40 (80%) did so. In total, the number of CP with “extensive” or “adequate” counselling quality increased from 99 to 137 (p<0,001).

Conclusion: It was shown that this PsC approach is an effective tool for improvement of counselling performance in self-medication.