Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. Drug Information & Safety Department Survey of Customer Needs and Satisfaction

Abstract

The purpose of this survey was to evaluate customer satisfaction with the services provided by the Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. (Roche) Drug Information and Safety Department, and to identify the department’s strengths and areas for improvement. Bilingual surveys (English or French) were sent to 100 hospital pharmacists, 100 community pharmacists, 100 physicians, and 30 drug information centers randomly selected from a list of all inquiries made between November 1, 1996 and February 27, 1997. A slightly different version of the survey was sent to 125 Roche sales representatives. The response rate was 51.2%.

Respondents reported a high level of overall satisfaction with Roche drug information services. In general, there was a good correlation between customer needs and customer satisfaction with the services offered. Areas of strength were identified as courtesy of personnel, accuracy, and relevance to the inquiry. The major area for improvement was found to be response time. Strategies for improvement include expanding the range of topics available through the “Fax on Demand” system, raising customer awareness of this system, streamlining the process of handling information requests, and using a drug information website with an externally accessible database to reduce the workload of the Roche Drug Information and Safety Department.