Assessment of Attitudes toward Patient Safety at Medical Retail Outlets: A Cross-sectional survey from Lahore, Pakistan

Objectives: This study was conducted for the assessment of patient safety at Medicine Retail Outlets at Lahore, Pakistan. Methods: It was a Cross-sectional study. Copies of the questionnaire were distributed to medical retail outlets (Community Pharmacies and Medical Stores) and collected as a research instrument among a sample population of about 300. Questions regarding staff working in the outlets like about the pharmacy, communication among the staff and questions regarding the patient safety and respond to mistakes were asked. Results: Results reported demonstrate patient safety is more at risk in medical store outlets than community pharmacies in Lahore. Some of the issues are common in both. However, majority of the concerns are peculiar to medical stores. Either way, it is the need of hour to stimulate the discussions about the strengths and weaknesses of patient safety cultures within the medical retail outlets, identifying areas for improvement, and evaluating patient safety interventions. This will aid the mature safety culture in retail pharmacy outlets. Conclusion: The study suggests that patient safety is more jeopardized in medical stores than in community pharmacies in Lahore, mostly due to inconsistent mistake documentation and the lack of experienced pharmacists.