Report · Health

Americans most associate pharmacists with dispensing medication

Reading

Americans readily name a pharmacist's core task: more than eight-in-ten (85%) say pharmacists dispense medications, according to a Verasight survey conducted Sept. 7-13, 2023.

Nearly six-in-ten (60%) also credit them with pouring pills into a bottle, and about half say pharmacists call physicians' offices (52%) or deal with insurance (50%). Fewer tie the role to working in hospitals (39%), while small shares mention diagnosing chronic disease (4%) or say they are unsure (5%).

Topline

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Selected responses

Americans most associate pharmacists with dispensing medication.

What do pharmacists do?

  • Dispense medications 85.3%
  • Pour pills in a bottle 59.6%
  • Call physicians offices 52.2%
  • Deal with insurance 50.0%
  • Work in hospitals 38.7%
  • Don't know 5.3%
  • Diagnose chronic disease 3.9%

2023 · base n 2,000 · +/- 2.3%

APSA Omnibus Survey #2023-071

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Methodology

Full methodology
Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting
Field dates
2023-09-07 → 2023-09-13
Base (unweighted)
2,000
Margin of error
+/- 2.3%
Module
2023 APSA Omnibus Survey #2023-071

Source

Citation

2023 APSA Omnibus Survey #2023-071, fielded September 7-13, 2023, N=2,000 United States adults, +/- 2.3%.

https://verasight-apsa-2023.tiiny.co

Verasight survey methodology

How Verasight conducts surveys.

This page describes the Verasight general survey contract, separate from how the Data Library packages it. When a wave report is published, its field dates, sample sizes, and module breakdown are listed in that report.

Mode
Verasight panel recruited via random address-based sampling, random person-to-person text messaging, and dynamic online targeting.
Population
US adults age 18+.
Sample design
Surveys are run as omnibus or single-topic waves. Omnibus waves are split into modules with their own respondent set, typically around one thousand respondents per module.
Field window
Each wave specifies its own field dates. Most omnibus waves field across roughly two weeks.
Weighting
Per-module weighting to CPS targets including age, race and ethnicity, sex, income, education, region, and metropolitan status.
Partisanship benchmark
Pew Research Center's NPORS benchmarking surveys, three-year running average.
Vote benchmark
2024 presidential vote population benchmarks.
Margin of error
Typically about plus or minus 3.4 to 3.6 percent per module at standard module sizes. Question-level MoE is recomputed when a base shrinks materially below the module baseline.
Reporting
The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io. Verified legacy reports remain on their original hosts, and unpublished reports are marked pending.
Transparency
Verasight is a member of the American Association for Public Opinion Research Transparency Initiative.

The canonical report hub is reports.verasight.io; older reports may remain on verified legacy hosts.