Community pharmacist's preparedness to provide patient-centred care in Saudi Arabia

Muhammad Kamran Rasheed; Syed Shahzad Hasan; Waleed M Altowayan; Maryam Farooqui; Zaheer Ud-Din Babar

doi:10.1016/j.jsps.2023.04.014

Community pharmacist's preparedness to provide patient-centred care in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Pharm J. 2023 Jun;31(6):801-807. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2023.04.014. Epub 2023 Apr 18.

Authors

Muhammad Kamran Rasheed^{1

2}, Syed Shahzad Hasan², Waleed M Altowayan¹, Maryam Farooqui³, Zaheer Ud-Din Babar²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Qassim, Saudi Arabia.
² School of Pharmacy, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, United Kingdom.
³ Department of Pharmacy Practice, Unaizah College of Pharmacy, Qassim University, Qassim, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: Community pharmacy practice in Saudi Arabia is evolving and needs to be at par with the developed world. Community pharmacists can play a vital role in bridging gaps in the delivery of healthcare services by providing patient-centred care to patients and contributing toward the healthcare transformation plan of vision 2030 of Saudi Arabia. The present study is aimed at evaluating the knowledge, attitude, and practices of community pharmacists in delivering patient-centred care services.

Method: A nationwide cross-sectional survey using a validated and pre-tested 27-item self-reported questionnaire was conducted amongst 301 (86.4% male, 13/6% female) community pharmacists from all regions of Saudi Arabia. Both descriptive and inferential analysis was employed using the SPSS version, with 0.05 as the level of significance.

Results: Community pharmacists from chain pharmacy groups, female gender and staff community pharmacists had statistically better overall practice standards, knowledge, and attitude to conduct patient-centred care services (p less than 0.01). The majority of community pharmacists would expect extra remuneration and participation in structured professional skills development programs to provide patient-centred care efficiently. Inaccessibility of patient data from healthcare facilities, the unavailability of informative literature, and administrative workload were among the barriers cited in delivering patient-centred care.

Conclusion: The study findings show that community pharmacists could play a significant role in providing patient-centred care and contribute to the achievement of the healthcare reform agenda of Saudi Arabia. However, some obstacles must be overcome before this practice can be shifted, including the introduction of a formalized continuing professional development program, financial incentives, and a decrease in the administrative burden on pharmacists. The results of this study may help policymakers in Saudi Arabia better comprehend the country's existing approach to community pharmacy practice.

Keywords: Community Pharmacy; Community pharmacist; Healthcare consumers; Patient-centred care; Public health; Vision 2030.