The Elderly's Perspective of the Relative importance of Pharmacy Selection Factors for Long-Term Care Facility Residents

The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the importance of the right to choose a pharmacy relative to other selected long-term care facility (LTCF) resident rights, (2) examine which pharmacy selection factors were most important to potential LTCF residents, and (3) assess whether differences existed between categories of respondents relating to the importance rankings of general pharmacy selection factor categories. A pretested questionnaire was mailed to an elderly population consisting of 428 residents of 4 apartment buildings for the aged and disabled. A total of 214 usable responses were included in the data analysis. Of those responding, 48% reported that the right to choose a pharmacy was one of the more important resident rights, while 40% reported that it was an average or less important right. However, almost all respondents (95%) reportedly would choose the same pharmacy they go to now if they were moving into an LTCF. The most important general pharmacy selection factor categories were pharmacist competence and accessibility of the pharmacist. Dillerences existed between categories of respondents classified by resident rights knowledge, past LTCF experience, and current prescription drug experience relating to the importance rankings of general pharmacy selection factor categories.