NCPA: Pharmacists Among Most Trusted Professions in Gallup's 2010 Honesty and Ethics Survey

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Dec. 6, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) Executive Vice President and CEO Kathleen Jaeger issued the following statement in response to the annual Gallup survey rating public sentiment about various professions for their honesty and ethics:

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"Gallup has been polling Americans about their views of various professions for decades, and once again pharmacists rank among the top professions for honesty and ethics. In fact, the confidence Americans place in pharmacists actually increased this year. Respondents to the 2010 poll gave pharmacists the largest one-year percentage increase in trustworthiness of any profession included in the 2009 survey. Pharmacists are knowledgeable, accessible and take time to answer patients' questions. So it's no wonder that pharmacists are held in high regard.

"We congratulate America's pharmacists on this achievement in 2010 and over the past few decades. It is a testament to their tireless efforts working in their stores with patients every day to earn and keep such trust and confidence. In particular, it is independent community pharmacists who are leading the way for the pharmacy profession, as evidenced by their very high patient satisfaction rates recorded by Consumer Reports and J.D. Power & Associates.

"So much about being a pharmacist has changed since Gallup began surveying Americans about the profession in 1981. In addition to dispensing prescription drugs and counseling patients about their use, now community pharmacists provide a wide variety of helpful niche services that enhance health outcomes. Patients appreciate being able to receive from their local pharmacists services such as immunizations, medication therapy management, compounding, home delivery, durable medical equipment and disease management training to battle diabetes and other chronic conditions.  But, while the profession has evolved, the public's trust in pharmacists continues to hold steady.

"In business the common refrain is 'the customer is always right'. The Gallup rating demonstrates the care pharmacists take in delivering indispensible prescription drug related services is appreciated. We hope to work with the public and private sector to grow pharmacists' role in making Americans healthier, while helping to pursue the elusive, but attainable, goal of reducing costs."  

The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA®) represents the interests of America's community pharmacists, including the owners of more than 23,000 independent community pharmacies, pharmacy franchises, and chains. Together they represent a $93 billion health-care marketplace, have more than 315,000 employees including 62,400 pharmacists, and dispense over 41% of all retail prescriptions. To learn more go to www.ncpanet.org or read NCPA's blog, The Dose, at http://ncpanet.wordpress.com.

SOURCE National Community Pharmacists Association