Table 1.
Characteristics of the selected pharmacies.
| Characteristics | Pharmacies (n,%) | Range | Mean (s.d.) | Mean data of Dutch pharmacies (n = 1571)1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Urbanization level2 | ||||
| No urbanization | 12 (8.5%) | 9.4% | ||
| Little urbanization | 31 (22.0%) | 21.7% | ||
| Moderate urbanization | 37 (26.2%) | 22.4% | ||
| Strong urbanization | 37 (26.2%) | 25.8% | ||
| Very strong urbanization | 24 (17.0%) | 20.7% | ||
| Prescription characteristics | ||||
| Number of prescriptions per day | 42–998 | 336.0 (140.5) | 322.5 | |
| Number of POM prescriptions per day* | 34–609 | 259.8 (99.8) | 256.1 | |
| Personnel characteristics | ||||
| Number of pharmacists | 0.0–4.0 | 1.3 (0.5) | 1.55 | |
| Number of assistants | 1.0–9.5 | 4.7 (1.6) | 5.85 | |
| Number of personnel3 | 2.0–13.5 | 6.0 (1.9) | 7.40 | |
| Workload assistants4 | 30.9–162.0 | 73.0 (22.4) | 55.1 | |
| Workload personnel | 19.6–105.2 | 55.9 (15.4) | 43.6 | |
1
data obtained from SFK (Stichting Farmaceutische Kengetallen=Foundation for Pharmaceutical Statistics, The Hague) concerning the first quarter of 1999.
2
this measure of urbanization is used by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) in the Netherlands and by SFK as well [22].
3
personnel=number of pharmacists plus number of pharmacy assistants.
4
workload assistants=number of prescriptions per assistant per day.
*
POM=prescription only medicine(s).