Survey: Pharmacies fulfill Finns expectations well

The most important pharmacy services, according to pharmacy customers in Finland, are the checking of the compatibility of medicines, guidance on the use of medicines, and direct reimbursement from the pharmacy. Of these services, the importance of medicine guidance has increased the most compared with previous years.

This was shown in a survey by Taloustutkimus Ltd for the Association of Finnish Pharmacies. Over one thousand Finns aged between 15 and 79 were interviewed during April and May for the survey, which is carried out every second year.

The latest survey showed that the great majority (92%) of those interviewed believe that there are enough pharmacies in Finland. Almost two out of three (64%) felt that the availability of pharmacy services must be guaranteed by regulating pharmacy establishment. Four out of five (82%) regard pharmacy opening hours as satisfactory, and among those of 60 years or more, the figure is nine out of ten.

Services more appreciated than before

Pharmacy customers consider the check of compatibility of medicines, medicine guidance and the fact that they receive their reimbursement directly from the pharmacy to be the most important pharmacy services. More than nine out of ten consider them to be very or fairly important.

According to the survey, customers now find nearly all the services covered by the survey slightly more important than before. However, of the services that are most important to them, customers clearly now place more value on being able to get a cheaper substitute in place of a more expensive brand, and also monitoring of medicine treatment. Other services seen as notably more important than before are dose-dispensing of medicines, support of giving up smoking, and the offering of cheaper substitute in self-care medicines.

Nearly all of the interviewees were either very (61%) or fairly (35%) satisfied with their most recent visit to a pharmacy. Most satisfied were those over 60 years. The customers were especially pleased with helpfulness of the staff (58%). Additionally, they liked the speed of services (27%), and also the competence (26%) and the friendliness (21%) of the staff.

The most common reasons for discontent were long waiting times (29%), and unfriendly (11%) and slow service (10%). Over one third (37%) of those interviewed could not recall any reason for being dissatisfied.

Pharmacies most important in medicine guidance

Compared with a survey carried out two years ago, the greatest shift in the attitudes of Finns concerned guidance on medicines. Of those surveyed, 87% said that they typically get oral advice about their medicines from pharmacy staff, 81% mentioned a doctor, and 74% the patient information leaflet in medicine packages. For the first time, pharmacy staff were mentioned more often than a doctor as a source of guidance on medicines. The next most common sources of information about medicines are the pharmacy customer magazine Terveydeksi! (37%), the Internet (36%), and other media (31%).

Compared with the findings of the first survey in 1999, the number of people seeking information on the Internet has now quadrupled. However, customers still much prefer to get medicine guidance primarily from a doctor (52%). The second most preferred source of information is pharmacy staff (37%). Four per cent go to the patient information leaflet and two per cent the Internet.

Finns prefer to buy medicines from pharmacies

The majority of those interviewed (86%) expressed a preference for buying prescription medicines from a pharmacy. Only two in one hundred prefer to buy prescription medicines via the Internet.

Slightly under half of those surveyed (49%) find prescription medicines expensive, whereas more than a third (35%) find the prices reasonable. Most of the respondents (91%) feel that it is important that prescription medicines cost the same in all pharmacies.

The pharmacy was also the most preferred place for buying non-prescription medicines (54%). The second largest group (36%) favoured shops and supermarkets; the popularity of these outlets has dropped three per cent compared with two years ago (39%). Half of those interviewed now find prices of non-prescription medicines reasonable (50%), whereas over one third (37%) find them expensive. Three out of four (74%) want non-prescription medicines to have the same prices in all pharmacies.

In recent years, shopping malls have clearly gained favour as the best location for a pharmacy: 45% of those interviewed now mention shopping malls as the best location. In fact, nearly every sixth pharmacy is nowadays found in a shopping mall or a department store.

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How the survey was conducted

- The survey of people's experiences and expectations of pharmacy services was conducted by Taloustutkimus Ltd for the Association of Finnish Pharmacies.

- From 26.4.2007 to 19.5.2007 Taloustutkimus Ltd interviewed by phone 1010 Finns in the
age group 15–79 years.

- Sample quotas were set according to age and gender to correspond to the distribution of pharmacy customers: 71% of those surveyed were women and 35% were customers aged 60 years or over. The sample corresponded to the Finnish population according to their county of residence and category of municipality.

- Maximum margin of error is +/- 3.2%.

- The survey was also conducted earlier: in 1999, 2001, 2003 and 2005.

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Further information: Director of Communications Erkki Kostiainen, Association of Finnish Pharmacies, tel: +358 50 566 8188

The Association of Finnish Pharmacies was founded by pharmacy owners in 1897. The Association supports and promotes high standards of ethical and professional competence in pharmacy services within the broader health care sector. It also offers professional services, and provides training and communication services to its member pharmacies.
At present, there are 805 pharmacy outlets in Finland.