Establishment and evaluation of a serum cholesterol monitoring service in a community pharmacy.

A clinical pharmacy service providing blood cholesterol testing and consultation was implemented in a community pharmacy. In this pilot study, 27 patients each paid $10 to have a serum cholesterol determination. All subjects completed a questionnaire to determine attitude toward such a service, intention to use it in the future, and willingness to pay for its use. A posttest patient satisfaction questionnaire was completed after blood-level results were reported and discussed with the patient. All subjects stated that they were strongly in favor of such a service, that they would use it, and that they would pay an average of $11.60 for the test. On the posttest questionnaire, patients expressed strong satisfaction with various aspects of the service, and the amount that they were willing to pay increased significantly to $14.35. It is recommended that community pharmacies implement such patient-oriented services.