Patient Satisfaction with Clinical Pharmacist Communication and Its Association with Treatment-Related Problems: A Cross-Sectional Study in Jordanian Public Hospitals

Background: Treatment-related problems (TRPs), including patient adherence, knowledge, and medication errors, affect hospitalized patients’ outcomes worldwide. Effective clinical pharmacist communication is essential for proper patient counselling and medication safety. However, the effect of clinical pharmacist communication skills on TRPs has not been adequately studied. Objective: This study aimed to assess patients’ satisfaction with clinical pharmacists’ communication components (appropriate timing, language, and empathy) and examine their association with TRPs, including patient adherence, knowledge, and medication errors. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in two Jordanian public hospitals between October 2023 and April 2024 through a structured questionnaire to assess patients’ satisfaction, adherence, and knowledge. Medication errors were detected in collaboration with other healthcare providers through reviewing medical records and direct patient assessment based on the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists classification. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS version 27. Results: A total of 613 adult inpatients were included. Overall, 82.1% (n = 503) of patients were satisfied with the clinical pharmacist communication, 75.5% (n = 463) showed good adherence, and 76% (n = 466) showed good knowledge. A total of 42.4% of medication errors (n = 260) were identified. Errors with harm or fatalities were not observed. The regression results showed that the overall satisfaction level was positively associated with patients’ adherence rate (B = 0.59; p < 0.001) and patients’ knowledge (B = 0.978; p < 0.001) and negatively associated with the number of medication errors (B = −0.024; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Clear, timely, and empathetic communication by clinical pharmacists was associated with patient satisfaction and was linked to better patient adherence and knowledge and fewer medication errors. Improving communication skills among clinical pharmacists could be a practical way to reduce TRPs.