BASIC PRELIMS

PHCARE-202-LEC
DISPENSING
LECTURE | FIRST SEMESTER

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO BASIC DISPENSING

• Provide the patient with information and

OBJECTIVES
• Define and explain dispensing concepts.
• Discuss the dispensing process.
• Described the pharmacist’s responsibility in
dispensing process.
DISPENSING
guidance to ensure patient’s compliance to
the medication prescribed.
• Advise the prescriber of drug substitutes
the patients may have, or other
medications taken by the patient.
• Maintain trust of the prescriber and the
patient.

• It refers to the pharmacist’s function of

taking an order or prescription, preparing
the drug/s according to the instructions of
physician and delivering it to the patient
with proper instructions.
• Process of preparing and giving medicine
to a named person on the basis of a
prescription.
• It involves the correct interpretation,
accurate preparation and labeling of
medicine for use by the patient.
• This process may take place in a public or
private clinic, health center, hospital, or
community pharmacy setting.

DISPENSING CYCLE

PHARMACIST’S RESPONSIBILITIES IN
DISPENSING PROCESS
• Provide the medication need of the patient.
• Fill prescription in a precise manner.

Transcribed by: Acob, Charisma Mae M. 1

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PHCARE-202-LEC
DISPENSING
LECTURE | FIRST SEMESTER

CHAPTER 2: PRINCIPLES OF GOOD CUSTOMER SERVICE IN PHARMACY

• Poor public image

OBJECTIVES
ZONES OF CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
• Identify the key principles of customer • Zone of Outrage
service. • Zone of Dissatisfaction
• Understand the importance in responding • Zone of Satisfaction
to customer needs. • Zone of Delight
• Explain the contribution of both internal and
external customers. THREE ASPECTS OF SERVICE
• Explain the four basic principles of great ENCOUNTER
pharmacy service. • The nature of the service task being
• Discuss the variety of customer service performed and what it involves.
practices/procedures. • The service standards expected, both by
the customer and provider.
HEALTH CARE DELIVERY • The service delivery system for the task at
hand.

OPERATIONAL STANDARDS &

COMPETENCE STANDARDS

1. OPERATIONAL STANDARDS
- What is to be said or done.

2. COMPETENCE STANDARDS
- How a particular service should be done.

FOUR BASIC PRINCIPLES

1. EXCELLENT STANDARD OF CARE

KEY DIMENSIONS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE • One of the most important elements in the
• Reliability standard care is the ability to understand
• Responsiveness patients or customers from their point of
view.
• Assurance
• In today’s standard, patient involvement is
• Empathy
seen as equally important as having the
• Tangibility
right diagnosis or the right pharmacological
intervention.
EXAMPLES OF POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE
• Many patients have their own view of
• Not getting information health and illness. Although some of these
• Customer cancellations / not returning beliefs may not be correct, but pharmacists
• Unhappy workforce should pay attention to these details.
• Lack of customer loyalty

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 BASIC
DISPENSING
LECTURE | FIRST SEMESTER
2. GOOD ATTITUDE AND EMPATHY
• Keeping the business afloat is as
challenging as one can imagine given the
high costs of operating a pharmacy. This is
where the fine line of separating the action
of caring for patients versus turning a profit
from the venture has to be drawn.
• It is very common to find customers visit the
pharmacy for health supplements and
beauty products. While there is significantly
less evidence on these products, it is easy
to fall prey to greed and push more
products to customers than they need. It is
important to understand that while there
are no hard limits on what should be
recommended, but one’s conscience
demands that only those products are
needed should be suggested.
3. QUALITY OF HEALTHCARE
• In fact, all customers and patients expect
the highest standard of care from
pharmacists, and this bottom line cannot be
compromised.
• Evidence-based advice and care should be
the priority in any treatment regimen,
whether the patient suffers from minor
illnesses such as fever or gastric
discomfort, or if they are patients with
chronic diseases which require long-term
medications.
• Pharmacists should bear in mind that
“doing no harm” should take precedence.
The referral o patients to doctors when it is
necessary should always be observed by
all pharmacists.
4. ATTENTION TO DETAILS
• Excellent service can sometimes be
understood as paying close attention to
details. This is a crucial factor to not only
gain complete information, but also to win
the heart of customers. Customer service
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giants such as Nordstrom in the U.S. od
Ritz-Carlton put much effort into making
sure their customer is top notch.
• For example, when a customer asks about
where something is located, the pharmacy
staff can walk him or her to the location
instead of just pointing it out. The idea is
that each staff should be trained to help
customers or patients to optimize their
experiences in a pharmacy.
• As community pharmacies become more
integrated into healthcare and the role of
pharmacists expand, maintaining excellent
customer service would help to keep
patients coming and sustain the pharmacy
in an increasingly competitive market.
CUSTOMERS
• Anyone who has the right to ask or expect
an employee to provide a service as part of
their job role.
• Most employees deal with two types of
customers at work:
o Internal customers
o External customers
CUSTOMERS: INTERNAL
• Members of staff of organization who
contribute towards the service provided
toward external customers.
o Colleagues
o Management / supervisors
o Employees of other organization
§ Examples: retail outlets at
an airport are internal
customers of the airport
CUSTOMERS: EXTERNAL
• An organizations visitors or users.
o Individuals
o Groups
o People with children
o Foreign visitors
o People with specific need
o Members / non-members of
pharmacy clients
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PHCARE-202-LEC
DISPENSING
LECTURE | FIRST SEMESTER

DIFFERENT GENERATIONS DELIVERY OF CUSTOMER SERVICE

1. Baby boomers (1946 to 1964)
o Getting older, thinking younger,
they were not born into technology
and are more amenable to face-to-
face interaction.
2. Generation X (1965 to 1980)
o Independent, and well-educated
individuals. They are very
comfortable with technology like
computers and smartphones, along
with learning new software or
programs.
3. Millennials also known as Generation Y
(1981 to 1996)
o A collaborative and impact-oriented
generation. They have an intuitive
knowledge of technology.
4. Generation Z, also known as Gen Z or
“zoomers” (1997 to 2015)
o An optimistic yet risk-averse group.
Inclined to take a non-traditional
approach.
EMPLOYEES
• Understanding typed of staff role work
within an organization and how each
delivers quality service (better familiarize
with roles/tasks).
• Example:
o Pharmacists
o Pharmacy Assistant
o Maintenance / Security
o Manager
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
• Each performance standard states three
things about each aspect of the job:
o What the employee do?
o How it is to be done?
o To what extent it is to be done?
(how much, how well, how soon?)
CUSTOMER SERVICE: ASSESSMENT
• Commonly used strategies include:
o Monitoring customer feedback
o Maintaining staffing levels together
with training programs and
monitoring of individual
performances.

• Employees satisfaction affects customer BENCHMARKING

satisfaction.
• Is the process of identifying best practice in
• Employees that interact with customers
relation to customer service delivery.
develop awareness of goals/needs.
• Satisfied employees are: FOUR KEY STEPS
o Motivated employees 1. Understanding all existing customers.
o Empowered employees 2. Analyzing customer service process of
o Have high energy /willingness to others.
give good service 3. Comparing own customer service
o Provide customers with adequate performance w/ others.
explanations for undesirable 4. Implementing the necessary steps to close
outcomes (empathy, performance gap.
understanding, respect, concern)

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DISPENSING
LECTURE | FIRST SEMESTER

COLLECTING CUSTOMER FEEDBACK • Set customer service goals.

1. Customer comment cards, placed around
building for visitors.
2. Feedback option through website.
3. Evaluation forms given out after specific
events.
4. Responding to assessments by special
external bodies & special interest groups.
THREE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF
SERVICE CULTURE
1. A strategy for the product or service
2. Customer-oriented staff
LEVELS OF CUSTOMER VALUE
3. Customer-friendly systems
• Decide what strategies will achieve the
goals.
• Decide what service is needed to give the
customer value.
• Decide what you will do differently.
• Set key performance indicators against
critical success factors.
• Decide how you will inform your customers
about any improvements to the customer
value package.

KEY INGREDIENTS IN A SERVICE

CULTURE

CUSTOMER SERVICE FEATURE

• Some features of successful service are:
o Pleasant environment
o Friendly and well-groomed staff
o Informed staff with helpful
supervisors
o Speed of delivery
o Willing assistance and politeness

CREATE CUSTOMER VALUE

• Ask your customer what they value by
using surveys, listening to their comments
and asking questions.

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 BASIC
DISPENSING
LECTURE | FIRST SEMESTER
CHAPTER 3: PRINCIPLES OF INTERPERSONAL AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
• These standards cover the aspects of
performance and behavior that involve any
interaction with others. You must
demonstrate your ability to communicate at
all levels and to work with others in the
pharmacy and healthcare team. In doing
this, you will show that you possess the
core characteristics of an empathetic
healthcare professional:
o Seeing and understanding things
from the perspective of others,
especially patients.
o Communicating effectively
o Working with people from other
disciplines.
SETTING THE STAGE: CASE SUDY 1
• GR, a 59-year-old man with moderate
hypertension, enters your pharmacy
holding an unlit cigar.
• You know him, he is a high school principal,
has a wife who works and has 4 children.
• He has been told to quit smoking and go on
a diet. He also has a long history of not
taking his medications correctly.
• He comes to pick up a new prescription, an
antibiotic for a UTI.
• Although he knows you personally, he is
somewhat hesitant as he approached the
counseling area.
• He looks down at the ground and mumbles,
“The doctor called in a new prescription for
me, and can I also have a refill of my heart
medication?”
INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
MODEL
1. Sender
2. Message
3. Receiver
4. Feedback
5. Barriers
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INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION
MODEL
1. Sender transmits the message
2. Encoding is the selection of words, signs,
symbols, etc.
3. Message is the element that is transmitted.
4. Channel is the method / mode of
communication (email, phone, face to face)
5. Receiver receives the message
6. Decoding is the interpretation of what we
just heard
7. Feedback to the sender
8. Barriers interference that affects the
accuracy of the message
9. Context is the setting in which
communication occurs.
REPRESENTATION MODEL OF
COMMUNICATION
THE SENDER
• The initial sender of the message was Mr.
GR:
o “The doctor called in a new
prescription for me, and can I also
have a refill of my heart
medication?”
• In most situations, senders formulate
(encode) messages before transmitting
them.
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 BASIC
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• However, in some cases, messages are
transmitted spontaneously without the
sender thinking about them, such as a
glaring stare or a burst of laughter.
THE MESSAGE
• Messages can be thoughts, ideas,
emotions, information or other factors and
can be transmitted both verbally (by
talking) and nonverbally (by using facial
expressions, hand gestures, etc.)
• Mr. GR’s verbal message was?
• At the same time, he also communicated
nonverbal messages.
o (He looks down at the ground
and mumbles)
THE RECEIVER
• As the receiver, you “decode” the message
and assign a particular meaning to it, which
may or may not be Mr. GR’s intended
meaning.
• In receiving and translating the message,
you probably considered both the verbal
and nonverbal components of the
messages sent by Mr. GR.
FEEDBACK
• Feedback is the process whereby receivers
communicate back to senders their
understanding of the sender’s message.
• In the feedback loop, the initial receiver
becomes the sender of feedback, and the
initial sender becomes the receiver of the
feedback.
• Feedback allows communication to be a
two-way interaction rather than a one-way
monologue.
• Feedback can be simple, such as merely
nodding your head, or more complex, such
as repeating a set of complicated
instructions to make sure that you
interpreted them correctly.
• How will you respond to My. GR? You can
say,
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o “I’m sorry Mr. GR, I’m not sure what
you are asking. Which medication
do you need?” or
o “How are you feeling, Mr. GR? You
seem a bit down.”
• This, in this example, feedback would be
your verbal and nonverbal response to Mr.
GR.
BARRIERS
• These barriers affect the accuracy of the
communication exchange.
o For example, if a loud vacuum
cleaner was running in your
pharmacy when you are trying to
talk to Mr. GR.
o Other barriers might include a
safety glass partition between you
and Mr. GR.
o telephone/s ringing in the
background.
o Myr. GR’s inability to hear you due
to his defective hearing aid.
BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
1. ENVIRONMENTAL BARRIERS
• These are physical barriers that inhibit
effective communication between the
pharmacist and patient.
2. PERSONAL BARRIERS
• These are personal characteristics that
may hinder effective communication and
may have been influenced by negative
experiences.
3. ADMINISTRATIVE BARRIERS
• This may include non-payment of
services, thus, placing this service in the
bottom of the priority list of pharmacists.
4. TIME BARRIERS
• Initiating a conversation with a patient at
the wrong time will only lead to failure.
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 BASIC PRELIMS
PHCARE-202-LEC
DISPENSING
LECTURE | FIRST SEMESTER

• Inappropriate timing, lack of time and other

work-related interruptions can come to
play.

BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION

OVERCOMING THE BARRIERS OF

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

• Effective questions
• Seeking participation
• Checking for understanding
• Cultural sensitivity
• Body language
• Simple words
• Connecting with the audience
• Summarizing what has been said

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