scholarly journals Benefits of electronic prescriptions for administering medication and treatment, as compared to traditional written prescriptions

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-74
Author(s):  
Alshammari Mohammad A ◽  
Alenzy Muhya T
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Quality Care ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Community Pharmacists ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Patient Counselling ◽  
Cognitive Behavioural ◽  
Proper Training ◽  
Improving Patient Care

Addressing the controversies to drug therapy involves talking about and discussing emotional, cognitive, behavioural, and social problems. Also, several pieces of literature and comparative studies have been established to understand the intervention practices of medical staff in patient counselling in terms of improving patient care. But with limited knowledge in counselling-related studies, these issues can be tackled by qualified and knowledgeable pharmacists. The study aims to conduct relevant quantitative data to determine if pharmacists' role in counselling is of high essentiality towards medical care to promote public health and quality care. Also, the research topic revolves in establishing how much pharmacists' obligations are practical towards the patients' counselling. A cross-sectional survey of community pharmacists (n-400) working in the Hail region hospitals in Saudi Arabia was conducted during May 2019. The survey infrastructure comprised of six different sections, gender, age, degree, profession, workplace, and experience. The qualitative data gathered was first explored using frequency distribution and descriptive analysis. The total pharmacist valid response (210) was accepted, and both genders contributed towards such results. Moreover, most of the pharmacists attested to the elements of lack of medical tools and proper training as a significant medical issue towards appropriate counselling approaches. Nonetheless, it was proven that leading problems that undermine the effectiveness of pharmacists towards promoting acute counselling were a lifestyle (mean of 2.96), smoking cessation (mean of 269), time to administer each drug (mean of 3.05), and missed a dose (mean of 2.05). Pharmacists that participated in this study were unanimous, specifically, on understanding the importance of the survey but reflected on considerable variations in their experience in counselling. Moreover, it was clear that the percentage of Saudi Arabia pharmacists are contributing perfectly. However, it is undeniable they might need additional assistance, training, and medical tools to provide enormous quality counselling to patients.

scholarly journals The Use and Potential Interactions of Herbal Medicines among Diabetic Patients in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-sectional Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 226-234
Author(s):  
Saleh Alghamdi
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Traditional Medicine ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Herbal Medicines ◽  
Black Tea ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Research Committee ◽  
Cross Sectional

Objectives: The use of herbal medicines as non-conventional treatment is popular, especially in developing countries where people suffering from chronic diseases as diabetes mellitus are more likely to use herbal medicines along with conventional medicines. However, their simultaneous use may concur serious drug interactions and may therefore result in a serious outcome. The present study was designed to identify the most commonly used herbal medicines and conventional anti-diabetic medications among Saudi population. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was developed and piloted.Data were retrieved and manually entered in Excel 2016. Frequencies and percentages were utilized to perform descriptive analysis. The study was approved by the Scientific and Research Committee of the main hospital taking part in the study. Results: A total of 347 responses were recorded (69.4% response rate). 54% of participants were male, 53% were between the age of 41 and 64 years, and 35.5% had no formal education. Black tea, Peppermint, ginger, green tea, olive oil, and black seed were among the frequently mentioned herbal medicines. Black tea was used by the majority of patients (80%) while peppermint and ginger were used by more than half of patients, i.e., (56.5%) and (52.7%) respectively. Least common herb used by patients was Artemisia species (2.8%). A majority of patients (53.4%) used traditional medicine at least once daily, and 83% used traditional medicine without their physician's prescription. Conclusion: Concomitant use of herbal and conventional anti-diabetic medication was a common practice among patients in Saudi Arabia, therefore, pharmacists-led educational programs should target both prescribers and general public about the possible interactions/risks of herbal medicines.

scholarly journals Community Pharmacists’ Perceptions towards the Misuse and Abuse of Pregabalin: A Cross-Sectional Study from Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 1281
Author(s):  
Sultan M. Alshahrani ◽  
Khalid Orayj ◽  
Ali M. Alqahtani ◽  
Mubarak A. Algahtany
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Community Pharmacists ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Male Dominance ◽  
Community Pharmacies ◽  
First Line ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
First Line Therapy ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Pregabalin is a first-line therapy for neuropathic pain and for chronic pain. It has abuse potential. This study was conducted to assess community pharmacists’ perceptions towards pregabalin abuse and misuse in the Aseer region, Saudi Arabia, and identify predictors and associated factors. A cross-sectional survey using a structured questionnaire following a self-administrative study was conducted across community pharmacies in the Aseer region (Abha, Khamis Mushait, Mahayel, Sarat Abeeda, Ahad-Rufaida, and Bishah). A total of 206 respondents from community pharmacists participated in the study. Over the last six months, 136 respondents (66.0%) suspected pregabalin abuse in community pharmacies; male dominance in pregabalin abusers was also recorded (n = 165, 80.1%). Additionally, 40 (19.4%) respondents stated that a prescription was not issued for pregabalin demands. Over half (61.7%) of community pharmacists recorded an increased change in pregabalin abuse compared to the previous year. This is the first study to explore pharmacists’ perceptions in the community of the Aseer region towards customers’ misuse and abuse of pregabalin. Further monitoring and regulations on the prescribing and procurement of pregabalin are needed to avoid abuse.

scholarly journals Community Pharmacists’ Opinions towards Poor Prescription Writing in Jazan, Saudi Arabia

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1077
Author(s):  
Saad Saeed Alqahtani
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Community Pharmacists ◽  
P Value ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Significance Level ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
Chi Square Test ◽  
Prescription Writing

Avoidance of medication errors is imperative for the safe use of medications, and community pharmacists are uniquely placed to identify and resolve the errors that may arise due to poorly handwritten prescriptions. Purpose: To explore the opinion and attitudes of community pharmacists towards poor prescription writing and their suggestions to overcome this concern. Methods: A cross-sectional, self-administered survey was conducted among the community pharmacists in the Jazan region, Saudi Arabia. Descriptive analysis and chi-square test were used at 5% p-value (p > 0.05) as the significance level. Results: The response rate for the survey was 78.66%, and 140 community pharmacists agreed to participate. Among the study subjects, the majority (73.57%) had a bachelor’s degree. Nearly three-fourths (3/4) of the pharmacists (72.29%) chose to send the patient back to the prescriber when they found difficulty in interpreting the information from an illegible prescription. As many as 80.71% of the pharmacists believed that poorly handwritten prescriptions were the cause of actual errors when dispensing medications. The most commonly encountered problem due to poorly handwritten prescriptions was the commercial name of medicine, which was reported by around two-thirds (67.86%) of the pharmacists. The use of e-prescription was suggested by 72.86% of the pharmacists as a probable solution to encounter this problem. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the belief and attitudes of community pharmacists in the region and their opinions to solve this impending problem of poor prescription writing. Continuous professional development courses can be adopted to tackle the problem. Additionally, health authorities can work on incorporating and facilitating the use of e-prescription in the community sector, which can be a boon to physicians, pharmacists, and patients. Proper and extensive training is however needed before the implementation of e-prescribing.

scholarly journals Effect of Insecurity on the Provision of Pharmaceutical Care in Akwa Ibom State: The Community Pharmacist’s Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekpedeme Ndem ◽  
Edidiong Orok ◽  
Felix Bassey
Keyword(s):  
Pharmaceutical Care ◽  
Community Pharmacists ◽  
Community Pharmacies ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Patient Counselling ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Financial Consequences ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Provision Of Care

Background: Pharmaceutical care is an important aspect of healthcare provided by pharmacists which is associated with good clinical outcomes and improved quality of life. Robberies and insecurities is a common occurrence in community pharmacies and when left unchecked can have economic, financial consequences and also influence the provision of care. The aim of this study was to assess the perceived effect of insecurity on the provision of pharmaceutical care in community pharmacies in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Methods: This study was a cross sectional survey among community pharmacists in community pharmacies in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. All community pharmacies in Uyo metropolis were visited and an informed consent was obtained from the pharmacists before the beginning of the study. A semistructured questionnaire was used in the collection of data in this study. The questionnaire evaluated the perceived effect of the current robberies on pharmaceutical care where the evaluation statements were structured in Likert scale format. Results: A total of 76 pharmacists consented to participate in the study where 56 (73.7%) were males and 20 were females. The mean age of the study participants was 28.25±1.543 years and 82.9% of the participants had 1-10 years’ community pharmacy experience. Majority of the pharmacists agreed that insecurity has hindered history taking (52%), blood pressure checks (84.2%), patient counselling (80.2%) and decreased sales (52.6%). Conclusion: There is a negative perceived effect of recent insecurities on the provision of pharmaceutical care services and sales. This aspect should be explored in further studies and research.

Evaluation of current contraception methods and knowledge among females in Saudi Arabia: a cross-sectional survey

2019 ◽  
pp. 71-76
Author(s):  
Ranya Al-Harazi ◽  
Nawal Alharbi ◽  
Ola Al-Zuraiq ◽  
Reem Alkhaldi ◽  
Ilham Almousa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional

Risk Minimization Measures in Off-Label Drug Use: A Survey of Community Pharmacists in Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 181-189
Author(s):  
Omotayo Fatokun
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Drug Use ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Adverse Drug Events ◽  
Community Pharmacists ◽  
Risk Minimization ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Off Label ◽  
Written Informed Consent

Background: While off-label drug use is common and sometimes necessary, it also presents considerable risks. Therefore, measures intended to prevent or reduce the potential exposure to off-label risks have been recommended. However, little is known about community pharmacists’ beliefs regarding these measures in Malaysia. Objectives: This study examined community pharmacists’ beliefs towards risk minimization measures in off-label drug use in Malaysia and assessed the relationship between perceived risk of off-label drug use and beliefs towards risk minimization measures. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 154 pharmacists practicing in randomly selected community pharmacies in Kuala Lumpur and the State of Selangor, Malaysia. Results: The majority agreed or strongly agreed that adverse drug events from the off-label drug should be reported to the regulatory authority (90.9%) and the off-label drug should only be used when the benefit outweighs potential risks (88.3%). Less than half (48.1%) agreed or strongly agreed that written informed consent should be obtained before dispensing off-label drugs and a majority (63.7%) agreed or strongly agreed that the informed consent process will be burdensome to healthcare professionals. Beliefs towards risk minimization measures were significantly associated with perceived risk of off-label drug use regarding efficacy (p = 0. 033), safety (p = 0.001), adverse drug rection (p = 0.001) and medication errors (p = 0.002). Conclusion: The community pharmacists have positive beliefs towards most of the risk minimization measures. However, beliefs towards written informed consent requirements are not encouraging. Enhancing risk perception may help influence positive beliefs towards risk minimization measures.

Evaluating the readiness of mobile technology in Saudi Arabia: An Integrative Perspective with respect to e-health (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fahad Alanezi
Keyword(s):  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Health System ◽  
Mobile Phones ◽  
Personal Data ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
History Of ◽  
Vision 2030 ◽  
Awareness Programs

UNSTRUCTURED E-health system is emerging and providing health services and solutions through different electronic gadgets. Saudi Arabia has launched a program called Saudi Arabia vision 2030, in which providing state-of-the-art health facilities to their citizen is of topmost priority. After all the efforts, the residents of Saudi Arabia are still reluctant for the adaptation of e-health system. The current study was conducted to evaluate the obstacle in adoption of the e-health system through the mobile phones. The current study was cross-sectional survey and was conducted by developing a self-administered structured questionnaire asking the utilization of mobile phone in state of health emergency prior to ask any medical history. Majority of the participants was married and doing jobs in different firms and have their personal mobile phones (p = 0.100, > 0.05) which indicates easily access to the e-health apps. The majority of the participants suffers from either obesity or high blood pressure (p = 0.018, < 0.05) regardless of either history of mental disorder or other family history of mental diseases. The pattern of diseases with mental disorders correlate well with adoption of e-health in government policies. The obstacles in adopting e-health includes fear of the loss of personal data and information (p = 0.0401, < 0.05). Moreover, they did not trust on online medications as the doctor cannot prescribe medicines without seeing physical health of the patient. The current study concluded that by making improvement in policies and proper commercializing the e-health apps together with awareness programs can boast the adoption of e-health in Saudi Arabia.

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