Predictors of patient satisfaction with pharmacy services in a health maintenance organization.

In a study of Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) patients, five variables were shown to be predictive of patient satisfaction with pharmacy services through multiple regression analysis. The variables of satisfaction with the HMO in general, convenience of prescription filling, self-assessed positive health status, communication between provider and patient, and the view of prescription drugs as being inexpensive accounted for 26.4% of the variance in patient satisfaction with HMO pharmacy services. The results suggest areas in which attention should be directed toward maintenance of patient satisfaction with pharmacy services, especially when considering that patients may have the option of utilizing in-house or out-of-plan pharmacies for services. The authors suggest administrators of HMOs, pharmacy directors, and out-of-plan vendor pharmacists should periodically assess HMO pharmacy patient satisfaction.