Under the community pharmacy contract in England and Wales, all contractors are now asked to complete an annual Community Pharmacy Patient Questionnaire (Previously known as the Patient Satisfaction Survey). Contractors must submit results by the end of March each year to comply with this element of the contract, which will form one of the Clinical Governance requirements. Completion will therefore be mandatory.
The details of the Community Pharmacy Patient Questionnaire required within the pharmacy contract in England have been agreed by the Department of Health (DH) and PSNC. To view the final requirements please visit the DH website.
Members can choose one of three solutions to manage this new requirement:
1. Print, implement and evaluate the questionnaire yourself.
2. Print and implement your own survey and outsource the analysis of results and reports.
3. Outsource the print, implementation, evaluation and reporting of results.
Options 1 and 2 would only be recommended if a contractor had the time, expertise and resource in-house to cope with a survey.
The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) offers members three options of support to match these options.
1. A resource pack to guide members through the complex area of patient surveys. This is a practical guide showing how to design, implement, analyse and evaluate the results of the survey.
2. The STANDpoint system from Customer Research Technologies (CRT) conducts all the research electronically and provides speedy analysis of results. CRT simply delivers the device to the pharmacy and collects it two weeks later. Results are returned to contractors within the next 5 days.
Download CRT document
3. Alternatively, the entire paper-based survey can be managed by CFEP-UK Surveys, who will provide a complete questionnaire pack and supporting materials to make the process hassle-free. Patients can return questionnaires to the pharmacy or post directly to CFEP-UK Surveys in the freepost envelopes provided. Track your survey online with a secure website log-in. You will receive a high quality report, with comparisons to national benchmarks, customized results poster and guidance on how to interpret your results. CFEP-UK Surveys is an established patient feedback company helping healthcare professionals and organisations make a difference to their patient-centred care.
Download CFEP document
