Data Analysis of Pharmacist Section - Case Study Example

Survey Data Analysis Name: Institution: Tutor’s Name: Date of Submission: a. Data Analysis of Pharmacist Section 1. Analysis of the survey responses In this section, male and female respondent pharmacists were involved in the survey. A total of 17 respondents were involved in the survey and all of them accepted to participate in the survey. Male respondents were 8 while female respondents were 9 accounting for response rate of 47% and 53% respectively. In terms of age groups, 9 respondents were aged between 20 and 40 years accounting for 53% of respondents, 6 respondents were aged between 41 years and 60 years accounting for 35% of respondents while 2 respondents were aged 61 years and above accounting for 12% of respondents. Pharmacists that worked in the UK private sector were 5, those in the UK NHS were 4, and those that worked in UAE Government sectors were 4 while those that worked in UAE privet sector were 4. When the respondents were asked to explain if there is a list of predefined medicine that they had the possibility to interact with each other, the responses were measured on a five-point scale that ranges from 1 i.e. strongly disagree to 5 i.e. strongly agree. None of the respondents strongly disagreed with the question, 1 respondent agreed with the question, 3 respondents were neutral to the question, five respondents agreed while 8 respondents strongly agreed with the question. When the respondents were asked if the medicines could be sold with or without prescription, 9 respondents strongly disagreed with the question, 3 respondents disagreed with the question, and 2 respondents were neutral to the question, 1 respondent agreed with the question while 2 respondents strongly agreed with the question. When the respondents were asked to explain if customer could buy any medicine they wished, 13 respondents strongly disagreed with the question, 2 respondents disagreed with the question, no respondent was neutral to the suggestion while two respondents disagreed with the suggestion. No respondent strongly disagreed with the suggestion. In terms of whether all sold medicines were being entered to a system by use of the health insurance card or other health ID, strongly disagree had 8 respondents, disagree 4 respondents, neutral had no respondent, disagree had 1 respondent while strongly agree had 4 respondents. In terms of the possibility of a list of medicines that could be sold without prescription, strongly disagree and disagree had no respondents, neutral and disagree had 1 respondent respectively while strongly disagree had 15 respondents. In terms of the possibility of existence of a supplement of drugs that cannot be sold, without prescription, 1 respondent strongly disagreed, another 1 respondent disagreed, no respondent was neutral, 1 respondent agreed while 14 respondents strongly agreed. Respondents were also asked if customer could buy supplement drugs he/she wished. 7 respondents strongly disagreed, 3 respondents disagreed, and no respondent was neutral or agreed while 1 respondent strongly agreed. The above procedures were followed in establishing the responses for the possibility of any sold supplement that are being entered into the system by use of health insurance card or other health ID, reasons why patients bought particular types medicines, the existence of an approved predefined list of medicines described for a particular illness or pain, whether the medicine was given to the patient exactly as described in the prescription, if the prescribed medicine was not available in the pharmacy, and the possibility of the pharmacist giving the patient an alternative medicine that included some active constituents and if the prescribed medicine was not available in the pharmacy and the possibility of the pharmacist advising the patient to return to the doctor to write an alternative medicine. Respondents were also asked if presently, medical records were available and accessible for any pharmacy, the impact of having a single database within the public and private pharmacies in the country help in avoiding drug danger. The other factors that were used in measuring responses were the impact of having a centralized medical database between all pharmacies in the country in protecting pharmacists through provision of the right medicine for customers, the possibility of linking the central databases between all pharmacies to monitor all kinds of medicines received by patients without doctor’s prescriptions and whether centralized medical databases should alert the pharmacists if there is a conflict of the requested medicines by customers with the medicines they are taking. The following graphs were used to analyze the interviews questions: Figure 1. Respones for the existence of list of medicines that have the possibility to interact with each other. Figure 2. Responses for the possibility of selling medicines without permission Figure 3. Responses whether customers can buy medicines they wish Figure 4. Responses for the possibility of all medicines being sold being ented into the using health insurance cards. 2. Analysis by use of Averages, Mode, Median, Standard Deviation and Variance In order to determine the overall response of respondents to the questions, an average was found regarding the responses. The following table provides the responses and the average of each scale. Ten responses were used to analyze the responses. Question /Respondent Nos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1 2 3 1 1 5 2 1 1 4 3 4 2 4 2 5 5 4 5 5 2 5 3 1 1 3 1 1 1 4 5 5 3 2 1 3 3 3 3 5 3 4 1 1 1 5 5 2 2 4 5 4 5 1 1 5 5 5 5 5 4 5 1 1 1 5 5 1 1 5 5 5 5 1 2 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 2 2 2 5 4 1 1 4 4 4 5 1 1 4 4 4 4 4 Average 4.2 2 1.2 1.2 4.6 3.4 1.2 1.2 4.2 4.4 4.4 4 1.8 1.4 4.4 4.4 4.2 4.4 4.8 Median 5 2 1 1 5 4 1 1 4 5 4 5 1 1 5 5 4 5 5 Mode 5 3 1 1 5 5 1 1 4 5 4 5 1 1 5 5 4 5 5 Std. Deviation 1.1662 0.894 0.4 0.4 0.8 1.7 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.8 0.5 1.3 1.2 0.5 0.8 0.8 0.7 0.8 0.4 Table 1. Average, Median, Mode and Standard Deviation of Pharmacists in UK Private Sector Question /Respondent Nos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1 4 2 1 4 5 5 1 2 3 4 5 4 2 1 5 5 5 5 5 2 4 1 1 1 5 5 1 1 3 5 5 5 2 1 5 5 5 3 5 3 5 1 1 2 5 5 2 1 5 5 4 4 2 1 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 2 2 2 4 5 2 2 5 4 4 4 2 1 5 5 5 5 5 Average 4.25 1.5 1.25 2.25 4.75 5 1.5 1.5 4 4.5 4.5 4.3 2 1 5 5 5 4.5 5 Median 4 1.5 1 2 5 5 1.5 1.5 4 4.5 4.5 4 2 1 5 5 5 5 5 Mode 4 2 1 2 5 5 1 2 3 4 5 4 2 1 5 5 5 5 5 Std. Deviation 0.43 0.5 0.43 1.09 0.43 0 0.5 0.5 1 0.5 0.5 0.4 0 0 0 0 0 0.87 0 Table 2. Average, Median, Mode and Standard Deviation of Pharmacists in UK NHS Question /Respondent Nos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1 5 1 1 2 5 5 1 1 4 3 4 4 4 1 5 5 5 5 5 2 5 5 4 1 5 5 1 1 5 1 5 5 5 1 5 5 5 5 5 3 5 4 4 1 5 5 1 1 4 1 5 5 5 1 5 5 5 5 4 4 5 5 1 1 5 5 5 2 1 5 3 5 5 1 5 5 5 5 5 Average 5 3.75 2.5 1.25 5 5 2 1.25 3.5 2.5 4.25 4.75 4.75 1 5 5 5 5 4.8 Median 5 4.5 2.5 1 5 5 1 1 4 2 4.5 5 5 1 5 5 5 5 5 Mode 5 5 1 1 5 5 1 1 4 1 5 5 5 1 5 5 5 5 5 Std. Deviation 0 1.64 1.5 0.43 0 0 1.732 0.43 1.5 1.658 0.83 0.43 0.43 0 0 0 0 0 0.4 Table 3. Average, Median, Mode and Standard Deviation of Pharmacists in UAE Private Sector Question /Respondent Nos. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1 3 1 1 5 5 5 1 5 3 3 5 2 5 1 5 5 5 5 3 2 3 1 1 5 5 5 1 5 2 3 5 1 5 1 5 5 5 5 5 3 4 1 1 5 5 5 1 5 2 3 5 1 5 1 5 5 5 4 3 4 3 1 1 5 5 5 1 5 3 3 5 1 5 1 5 5 5 5 3 Average 3.25 1 1 5 5 5 1 5 2.5 3 5 1.25 5 1 5 5 5 4.75 3.5 Median 3 1 1 5 5 5 1 5 2.5 3 5 1 5 1 5 5 5 5 3 Mode 3 1 1 5 5 5 1 5 3 3 5 1 5 1 5 5 5 5 3 Std. Deviation 0.433 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.5 0 0 0.43 0 0 0 0 0 0.433 0.866 The above procedures were followed and the following graphs were obtained for the average, Median, Mode and Standard Deviation for other characteristics of the data. Table 4. Avarage, Median, Mode and Standard Deviation for Pharmacists in the UAE Government Sector 3. Critical analysis of the survey According to the findings of this survey, there is a general agreement that the respondents were in agreement with the questions they were asked. This is supported by the fact that the average response rate ranged between ‘Agreed’ and ‘neutral’ positions. This response also showed that responses agreed with the argument that predefined medicines had the possibility to interact with each other. However, it was strongly disagreed that medicine could be sold with or without the prescription. This is evidenced by the fact that a greater percentage of respondents strongly disagreed with this argument compared with those who agreed with it. It was also strongly disagreed that patients could buy medicines they wished to buy. This is supported by the fact that medicines are sold only for the purpose of curing a particular illness and is not depend on an individual’s preference. It was also strongly agreed that medicines could not be sold without the prescription. This is supported by the fact that user have to follow experts advice in order to enable them benefit from drugs they use. However, it was found that there was a similar number of responses regarding whether patients should be asked the reasons why they are buying a particular drug. It was also strongly agreed that medicines are given to patients in the same manner that they have been prescribed. This implies that users had confidence that pharmacists had the expertise of providing them with the right medicines to cure their illnesses. b. The Analysis of the Citizen and resident section 1. Analysis of the Survey responses In this analysis, a total of 83 citizens were approached and interviewed. All the residents agreed to participate in the survey resulting into a response rate of 100 per cent. From the respondents, 44 were male respondents while 39were female respondents resulting into a gender score of 53% and 39% respectively. In terms of regions of residence, 38 respondents reported that they lived in UAE, 33 respondents reported that they lived in the UK while 12 respondents reported that they lived in other regions of the world. On the basis of age, 41 respondents reported that they were between 20 and 40 years, 30 respondents were between the ages of 41 and 60 years while 12 respondents were 61 years and above in age. In terms of occupation, 25 respondents were students, 4 were self-employed, 10 were homemakers, 5 were military personnel, 7 were retired, 5 were nurses, and 2 were hospital and clinic workers while the remaining 25 were involved in other occupations. Respondents were asked questions that required them to respond in a five-point scale that ranged from Strongly Disagree with a score of 1 to Strongly Agree with a score of 5. One question required them to show their ideas whether they visited the same hospital whenever they had medical issues. The other question required them to explain whether they visited the hospital that provided the best treatment for the illness the suffered from. The other question required them to explain whether they always took their medical records when visiting new hospital. A total of 83 questions were asked and the results were presented graphically. The following graphs show the responses that were presented graphically. Figure 5. A graph of whether respondents visit the same hospital when they have medical problems Figure 6. A graph of response regarding the possibility of visiting the hospital that gives the best treatment. Figure 7: A graph of response regarding the possibility of repeating some tests whenever respondents visit new hospitals. 2. Analysis by use of Averages, Mode, Median, Standard Deviation and Variance The overall response rate was obtained by finding the average response rate. A sample of ten responses was used to establish statistical characteristics of the responses. These responses were tabulated as shown in the following table. Table 5. Mean, Mode, Variance and Standard Deviation for a survey of Respondents in the UAE and the UK above the age of 61 years Response No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 3 4 5 4 1 1 1 5 5 5 1 1 1 5 5 3 5 5 3 4 5 1 1 1 5 5 5 1 1 1 5 5 3 5 5 1 1 1 1 2 1 5 5 5 1 1 1 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 5 1 1 1 5 5 5 1 1 1 5 5 2 5 5 5 5 5 2 4 2 5 5 5 1 1 1 4 5 3 5 4 5 3 5 1 3 2 5 5 5 1 1 1 5 5 4 5 2 5 3 5 1 3 1 5 5 5 2 2 1 4 5 1 5 2 5 3 5 1 3 1 5 5 5 2 2 1 4 5 1 5 1 5 4 5 1 4 2 5 5 5 1 1 1 5 5 4 5 2 4 5 5 1 4 2 5 5 5 1 1 1 5 5 5 5 4 4 5 4 2 5 4 5 4 4 5 1 4 5 5 1 5 5 3 4 3 2 4 3 5 5 5 1 1 1 5 5 3 5 Mean 3.5 4 3.833 4.333 1.25 2.92 1.75 5 4.92 4.917 1.5 1.167 1.25 4.75 5 2.917 5 Median 4 4 4 5 1 3 1.5 5 5 5 1 1 1 5 5 3 5 Mode 5 5 5 5 1 4 1 5 5 5 1 1 1 5 5 3 5 Std Dev 1.384 1.155 1.143 1.179 0.43 1.32 0.924 0 0.28 0.276 1.118 0.373 0.83 0.433 0 1.382 0 Variance 2.091 1.455 1.424 1.515 0.2 1.9 0.932 0 0.08 0.083 1.364 0.152 0.75 0.205 0 2.083 0 3. Critical analysis of the survey Statistical analysis of this survey can be used to support a number of observations. For instance, the mean response is found to be 29.7. This is high enough to show that respondents agreed with the responses from the survey. Some questions that were asked resulted into elaborate answers that could be used to explain the actual response of respondents. For instance, there was a general agreement among respondents that whenever they ha d medical issues, they visited the hospitals that provided them with the best treatment for the form of medical issues they experienced. This is supported by the high percentage of respondents i.e. 51% who supported this argument. However, there were more respondents who argued that they did not take medical records with them whenever they were visiting new hospitals. This s supported by even distribution of responses from strong disagreement to strong agreement. Most respondents also agreed that whenever they visited a new hospital, most previous medical tests were performed. This is supported by the strong agreement and general agreement in comparison to disagreements and strong disagreements. Another question that resulted into strong reaction from respondent is whether they preferred to have single medical records in which all visits to doctors, medications and lab results and medical tests were recorded. The score for strong agreement was 78%. This implies that most patient prefer to keep single medical record that they can use in any medical facility they visit. Another question that resulted into strong agreement among respondents is whether they preferred that the doctor gets access to their medical records whenever they visit the doctors. There was a strong agreement with a score of 64 per cent. This implies that patient’s prefer that doctors should get access to their medical records. c. The analysis of Doctors section 1. Analysis of the Survey responses In this survey, a total of 27 doctors were approached to participate the study. The response rate was 100 per cent since all the doctors that were approached were wiling to participate. 15 respondents were male while 12 were female resulting in a response rate of 56% and 44% respectively.12 respondents’ were aged between 20 years and 40 years, 11 respondents ware aged between 41 years and 60 years while the remaining 4 respondents were aged above 61 years. The regions of work of respondents were investigated and it was found that 10 respondents worked in the UK NHS, 7 worked in the UK private hospitals, 5 worked in the UAE Government hospitals while 5 worked in the UAE Private Hospitals. Respondents were provided with questions that they were required to answer on a five-point scale ranging from ‘Strongly disagree’ with a score of 1 and ‘Strongly agree’ with a score of 5. The responses were represented graphically and the following graphs show the responses that were represented in graph forms. Figure 8. Graphical representation of whether doctors may not be ware of the patient’s previous medical history Figure 9. A graph of whether patients understand what active ingredients are in their prescriptions 2. Analysis by use of Averages, Mode, Median, Standard Deviation and Variance In order to obtain the overall rates of responses statistical characteristics of responses such as the average, median, mode standard deviation and variance were calculated. Response No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 4 4 2 5 4 5 3 1 5 5 5 5 1 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 2 3 4 4 4 4 2 5 5 3 5 1 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 2 2 4 5 5 5 1 5 5 2 5 2 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 2 2 4 3 5 5 1 5 5 2 5 1 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 1 1 3 4 4 5 5 1 4 3 5 5 1 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Mean 3.4 2.2 2.4 4.2 4 4.8 4.4 1.2 4.8 4.6 3.4 5 1.2 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Median 4 2 2 4 4 5 5 1 5 5 3 5 1 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Mode 4 2 2 4 4 5 5 1 5 5 5 5 1 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 Std Dev 1.2 0.98 0.49 0.4 0.63 0.4 0.8 0.4 0.4 0.8 1.356 0 0.4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Variance 1.44 0.99 0.7 0.16 0.8 0.16 0.64 0.16 0.16 0.64 1.166 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Table 6: Mean Median, Mode, Variance and Standard Deviation for a survey of Doctors in the UAE Government Sectors. Response No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 5 3 2 3 2 5 5 2 4 3 3 3 2 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 3 1 5 4 4 4 1 2 4 2 4 1 4 4 4 4 3 4 3 4 1 2 3 4 4 4 1 4 3 2 4 2 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 5 2 1 2 1 5 5 2 3 5 1 1 1 5 5 3 5 3 5 3 2 1 1 2 4 3 1 1 1 1 3 1 1 5 5 5 5 5 4 4 2 2 4 4 5 5 5 2 5 5 3 3 1 5 4 5 4 5 5 5 2 2 1 3 4 4 4 1 4 4 1 3 1 3 4 5 5 3 5 3 Mean 3.4286 2 1.714 3.14 3.43 4.29 4 1.429 3.29 3.57 2.14 2.71 1.29 4.14 4.29 4.286 4.286 3.71 4.43 3.71 Median 4 2 1 3 4 4 4 1 4 4 2 3 1 4 4 4 4 3 4 4 Mode 2 2 1 3 4 5 5 1 4 3 3 3 1 5 4 4 4 3 4 4 Std Dev 1.2936 0.756 1.03 0.99 1.29 0.7 1.31 0.495 1.28 1.29 0.83 1.16 0.45 0.83 0.45 0.7 0.7 0.88 0.49 0.7 Variance 1.673 0.571 1.061 0.98 1.66 0.49 1.72 0.245 1.64 1.66 0.69 1.34 0.2 0.69 0.2 0.49 0.49 0.77 0.24 0.49 Table 7: Mean Median, Mode, Variance and Standard Deviation for a survey of Doctors in the UK NHS. 3. Critical analysis of the survey When responses from doctors in the UK NHS were compared with those from the UAE government doctors, it was found that most doctors from the UK NHS agreed that their patients understood the meaning of active ingredients in their prescriptions more than doctors from the UAE government hospitals. When comparing the responses of doctors in terms of the possibility of bringing medical records when doctors are visited, most doctors in the UK NHS reported that their patients visited them with their medical records in comparison to those from the UAE government hospitals who did not agree with the question. However, both doctors from the UK NHS and the UAE agreed that as doctors they must repeat medical tests when they had conducted them previously since they do not have the results. A comparison was also made regarding responses from private doctors in the UK and the UAE. It was found that doctors in both sectors agreed that they needed to repeat medical tests previously conducted since they did not have the results. However, privet doctors in the UK strongly disagreed that currently there was medical history of each patient and the information could be accessed for internal pharmacy. This was contrary to private doctors from the UAE who agreed to this statement. The other question that resulted into conflicting responses from the doctors is that currently a medicine that is provided from the pharmacist is recorded into the medical history of the patient. Private Doctors the UK did not agree with this statement while those from the UAE agreed with the statement. Conclusion This survey shows that there is no integration between government hospital and private hospitals. This is because doctors in private hospitals do not agree with certain questions that doctors from government hospitals agreed. For instance, doctors in government hospitals do not agree that there should be IT systems that assist in managing patient information. This is supported by doctors from private hospitals. This survey shows that there are many stakeholders that need to be involved in drug prescription. The main stakeholders that are suggested by this paper are the public, government hospitals and health professionals such as doctors and pharmacists. This survey shows that there are conflicting ideas when it comes to drug prescription and it is necessary to ensure clear guidelines are formulated for dispensing medications to patients. The nature of medication principles are also varied based on geographical boundaries. For instance, it is observed that doctors in the UK have different perception towards medication guidelines compared with their counterparts from the UK. Consequently, medical practitioners have to ensure the applicable medical prescription guidelines are relevant for the benefit of the patient and should not be restricted on the guidelines used in a particular country. References Alexander, N 2003, Dubai investment & business guide, International Business Publications, Washington, DC. Brown, R., Pollard, A. & Adshead, G 2007, The approved social worker's guide to psychiatry and medication, Learning Matters, Exeter. Courtenay, M & Griffiths, M 2010, Medication safety: an essential guide, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Read More