Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the current practice of community pharmacists from patients’ and pharmacists’ perspectives in Saudi Arabia. This paper presents the pharmacist’s perspective. A cross-sectional self-administered online survey was designed to collect responses from community pharmacists in Saudi Arabia from February to April 2021. The questionnaire consisted of several statements related to best practice in community pharmacy. Pharmacists’ responses to each statement were scored using a 5-point Likert scale. Higher scores represented a greater extent to which they adhered to best practice in the community pharmacy setting and vice versa. Data of 164 participants were included in the analysis. The minimum median score was related to the statement: Pharmacist explains the main side effects. The maximum median score was related to the statement: Pharmacist explains dosage regimen. Pharmacists aged 30 years or above and non-Saudi pharmacists had significantly higher median scores compared with pharmacists less than 30 years of age (p = 0.016) and Saudi pharmacists, respectively (p = 0.001). A gap between best practice and current practice of community pharmacists was observed. Policymakers can utilize these findings to provide targeted professional development opportunities for the practicing community pharmacists in order to improve the overall service and care for patients.
Highlights
This study aimed to evaluate the current practice of community pharmacists from patients’ and pharmacists’ perspectives in Saudi Arabia in order to identify the potential areas for improvement that can be used to develop recommendations for policymakers
Our study was an exploratory study in which we evaluated the current practice of community pharmacists from their own perspective in Saudi Arabia
We found that the median score of male and female pharmacists was above 3.8, and there was no significant difference found between them, meaning they evaluated themselves to be performing best practice well
Summary
Professional pharmacy services are defined as “an action or set of actions undertaken in or organized by a pharmacy, delivered by a pharmacist or other health practitioner, who applies their specialized health knowledge personally or via an intermediary, with a patient/client, population or other healthcare professionals, to optimize the process of care, with the aim to improve health outcomes, and the value of healthcare” [1]. Community pharmacies are considered the first in line for patients regarding ease of access to obtain their medication and health services. Pharmacists in community pharmacies can provide medical services for numerous patients in a day with or without appointments. These services can be seeking advice, reassurance, treatment, or even a combination of all these [2]
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