SURVEY SAYS PHARMACISTS RANK NO. 1 FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE

Of all US health professionals,the nation's pharmacistswere singled outas providing the best customerservice, accordingto the results of a newpublic opinion poll of7479 consumers conducted by BIGresearch.

According to the survey, 2 of every 3 Americans (66.4%) nowrate the services provided by their neighborhood pharmacist as"good" or "excellent." Women tended to rate the service of pharmacistsa notch higher than did men, and consumers with annualfamily incomes over $50,000 also were more likely to expresspositive feelings about pharmacists.

Additionally, the researchers found that age plays a role inhow highly Americans regard the services of pharmacists.Nearly 7 of 10 consumers who are 35 or older rated pharmacistcustomer service as "good" or "excellent." Only 60% of those inthe 18-to-34 age group gave pharmacists the thumbs up.

Dentists placed second to pharmacists,with 62% of consumersrating their services highly, while medical doctors scored 53%,according to the researchers. On the bottom end of the survey,only 41% of the Americans surveyed said that hospitals offer goodor excellent service, and less than 31% gave a positive response tothe services provided by health insurers.

In commenting on the findings, BIGresearch spokesmanGary Drenik said that "consumers are frustrated by thestate of service in the health care industry, and many seemto be most displeased with the cost of health care, thepaperwork dealing with insurance companies, and overworkedcaregivers."