OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the attitude and perception of the pharmacist toward patient safety in retail pharmacies setup in Malaysia.
METHODS: A Pharmacy Survey on Patient Safety Culture questionnaire was used to assess patient safety culture, developed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and the convenience sampling method was adopted.
RESULTS: The overall positive response rate ranged from 31.20% to 87.43%, and the average positive response rate was found to be 67%. Among all the eleven domains pertaining to patient safety culture, the scores of "staff training and skills" were less. Communication openness, and patient counseling are common, but not practiced regularly in the Malaysian retail pharmacy setup compared with those in USA. The overall perception of patient safety of an acceptable level in the current retail pharmacy setup.
CONCLUSION: The study revealed that staff training, skills, communication in patient counseling, and communication across shifts and about mistakes are less in current retail pharmacy setup. The overall perception of patient safety should be improved by educating the pharmacists about the significance and essential of patient safety.