OBJECTIVES: The primary aim was to determine the extent of provision of Pharmacist Initiated Therapy (PIT) services in pharmacies in South Africa and the time it takes to provide this service. METHODS: A national research project was undertaken during 2008 by the South African Pharmacy Council on the services for which a pharmacist may levy a fee.  The focus of this study is on one component of the larger study, namely the PIT service. RESULTS: A total of 369 pharmacies provided PIT services, and 3133 PIT services (cases) were measured.  The majority were delivered by community (retail) pharmacies (95.79%).  The PIT service was divided into three phases:  Phase I (pre-administration procedure), Phase II (preparation and labelling of the prescribed medicine) and Phase III (provision of information and instructions to the patient to ensure the safe and effective use of medicine).  Phase I was performed in 98.21% of cases, Phase II in 97.19% of cases and Phase III in 91.67% of cases.  Pharmacists mostly delivered all three phases themselves (over 70% of cases).  The weighted average time it took for a PIT service to be delivered was 199.02 seconds (just under 3.5 minutes) (SEM = 5.57 seconds).  The weighted average time in community pharmacies was slightly less (192.82 seconds) compared to 312.15 seconds in private institutional pharmacies.  The time taken was dependent on the number of items dispensed.  The weighted average time taken was 160.76 seconds if there was 1 item dispensed, 220.31 seconds for more than 1 and equal to 2 items dispensed, and 327.19 seconds if more than 2 items were dispensed.  A pharmacist may currently charge a fee of R35.00 for this service. CONCLUSIONS: PIT is an important service that pharmacists deliver where the need exists.  It is recommended that pharmacists be encouraged to counsel patients thoroughly when delivering a PIT service.