COVID-19 vaccinations in German pharmacies: A survey on patient and provider satisfaction

Background: COVID-19 vaccinations applied in pharmacies can facilitate accessibility and potentially increase the vaccination rate but remain controversial in many countries. This study aimed to explore the patients' motivation to receive their COVID-19 vaccination in a pharmacy and examine patient and provider satisfaction with this novel service.Methods: The study was designed as an explorative cross-sectional multicenter in-house quantitative survey and was conducted during the first weeks of COVID-19 vaccinations in German pharmacies from February to April 2022. The survey consisted of a paper-based questionnaire with scaling questions, mul-tiple choice questions and open questions. Patients were recruited consecutively before their vaccination and completed the survey directly after the service. Vaccinating pharmacists were also invited to answer a questionnaire on their experiences, motivation and expectations.Results: A total of 427 questionnaires out of 11 pharmacies were be included. The overall patient satis-faction with vaccinations in pharmacies was rated with the highest remarks by 91.5% of the participants, another 7.8% were fairly satisfied. Patient satisfaction with scheduling, waiting time, information, hygiene, vaccination technique and a feeling of safety was very high (96.5-97.9%). Patients' motivation on COVID-19 vaccination was to prevent severe COVID-19 symptoms (88.9%) and to protect others (72.3%). Easy accessibility, low barriers and proximity were other reasons for utilizing this service, men-tioned by 61.8% of the patients. Pharmacists were highly motivated and found the task meaningful but experienced considerable personnel shortage. General practitioners rather expressed relief on their work-load.Conclusions: Data of this study strongly supports to include pharmacies as additional providers of COVID-19 vaccinations. Patients stated marked satisfaction with this setting and expressed a feeling of safety and trust. Whereas most patients may have utilized the service for convenience, easy accessibility and low barriers were appreciated and can potentially contribute to higher vaccination rates.(c) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study explored patient and provider satisfaction with COVID-19 vaccinations in German pharmacies. The results showed that most patients were highly satisfied with the vaccinations conducted in pharmacies, and their motivation included preventing severe COVID-19 symptoms and protecting others. Easy accessibility and low barriers were seen as reasons for utilizing the pharmacy service.