Pharmacists' Experiences in and Perceptions Toward Serving the Needs of Spanish-Speaking Patients in North Carolina Community Pharmacies

ABSTRACTThe objective of this study was to examine pharmacists' experiences in and perceptions toward providing care to Spanish-speaking patients. A survey was sent to 300 randomly selected North Carolina community pharmacists in March of 1998. Pharmacists were asked to provide information on the percentage of their patient population that speaks only Spanish, the services offered to Spanish-speaking patients, their perceptions of the appropriateness of counseling being provided to Spanish-speaking patients, and their interest in learning Spanish. The survey response rate was 48%.Eighty-three percent of pharmacists reported that 1% or more of the patients they served spoke only Spanish. Fifty-four percent of pharmacists stated their stores provided prescription labels in Spanish, 34% provided written drug information sheets in Spanish, 6% offered over-the-counter products with Spanish labels, and 15% provided auxiliary labels in Spanish. The majority of pharmacists believed that English-speaking patients ...