%0 Journal Article %T Pharmacist attire and its impact on patient preference %A Cretton-Scott %A Erika %A Johnson %A Leah %A King %A Sean %J Pharmacy Practice (Internet) %D 2011 %I Scientific Electronic Library Online %R 10.4321/S1886-36552011000200002 %X objective: to determine the influence of demographics on patient preferences for community pharmacist attire. methods: a 10-item questionnaire was developed and administered to patients visiting a chain pharmacy or an independent pharmacy in the birmingham, alabama metropolitan area. mann-whitney was used to examine if statistical differences existed in chain versus independent pharmacy patient¡äs selections based on pharmacist attire. results: a statistically significant difference in patient preference for pharmacist attire between the settings in regards to which pharmacist patients felt was more approachable was observed; 51.2% of chain pharmacy respondents compared to 30% of independent pharmacy respondents identified the pharmacist pair with business formal attire and white coat as more approachable. differences in education was also apparent with 70% of respondents in the independent pharmacy setting reporting having a bachelor¡äs degree or higher compared to 45% of respondents in the chain pharmacy setting. conclusion: with the exception of approachability, patients indicated preference for pharmacist with the white coat regardless of community setting. given the importance of patient-pharmacist communication for building successful patient-pharmacist relationships, if patients do not perceive the pharmacists as approachable, communication and subsequent development of said relationships may not occur regardless of perceived knowledge and competency. %K clothing %K professional-patient relations %K pharmacists %K united states. %U http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S1886-36552011000200002&lng=en&nrm=iso&tlng=en