PNS63 A Cross-Sectional Study About Medications Wastage In Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the main reasons behind medication wastage and how the issue is perceived by healthcare workers. A questionnaire was sent out via email to healthcare professionals working in pharmacy and supply chain departments. The data collection took three months to complete then analyze by descriptive statistics. The sample consisted of 123 participants. Around 92% of respondents believed that ideally internal committees should calculate actual annual requirements considering both medicine consumption in the previous year and amount wasted. About 91% of respondents asserted that procurement of medicines should not be solely based on the demands of contracted doctors except in some rare cases, for limited amounts. Almost 65% of the participants believed that medicines should preferably be prescribed for no more than two months; 75% of the participants thought the pharmacy and therapeutics committee should consider drug efficacy and price when planning to add a new medicine to the hospital formulary. Nearly 58.5% of the respondents believed that inspectors should carry out stock monitoring and hospital inspections every three months. This study concluded that medication wastage results in immense resource drainage and represents a significant burden to healthcare institutions. Stakeholders should promote awareness about medication wastage on a top priority basis. One of the suggested solutions is to minimize the amount of medications in prescriptions and accurately estimate drug requirements at healthcare facilities. Additionally, frequent reviews should be conducted to ensure that the best medicines are stocked in each therapeutic group based on efficacy, safety, and price.