Knowledge-attitude-and-practice-of-malaysian-private-hospital-pharmacists-on-medication-review

Abstract

Background: Medication review is emerging as one of the vital components of medication management to prevent medicine-related problems. Study demonstrated a high prevalence of potentially inappropriate medication use in private aged care facilities. There is a strong need for medication review in the private healthcare system in Malaysia to ensure pharmaceutical safety and effectiveness. This study aimed to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice of private hospital pharmacists on medication review service in Malaysia. Method: This cross-sectional study was carried out from October to November 2020 using an online questionnaire. Private hospital pharmacists in Malaysia were invited to participate in a validated 36-items questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis H test were performed to analyse the data. Results: Survey questionnaires were completed by 104 private hospital pharmacists. 80 pharmacists (76.9%) presented with a high level of knowledge of medication review, while 92 pharmacists (88.5%) had a positive attitude. Approximately two-third (n = 68, 65.4%) was providing medication review in the pharmacy, whereas 45 of them (43.3%) did not obtain patient’s medication history at the time of admission or as early as possible. Besides, only 69 of the participants (66.3%) reconciled patient’s own medication with the prescribed medicines. Factors associated significantly with practice of medication review include age (p = 0.010) and years of experience as a private hospital pharmacist (p = 0.016). Three major perceived challenges of implementing medication review were lack of time (82.7%), insufficient training (79.8%) and lack of manpower (60.6%). Conclusion: In conclusion, private hospital pharmacists in Malaysia have high level of knowledge, a positive attitude and a fair practice regarding medication review service. Several challenges such as lack of time, insufficient training and lack of manpower might obstruct the practice of medication review service in the private hospitals.