Evaluating Hospital Pharmacy Practice: Medication Prescribing, Transcribing, and Administration in Tabuk Region, Saudi Arabia

This study aimed to outline the scope of pharmacy practice activities in managing medication use in hospital settings in Tabuk region, Saudi Arabia. The study used a modified American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) national survey related to Saudi Arabia hospitals. The pharmacy directors of the Ministry of Health hospitals in Tabuk region were contacted by email. They received a soft copy of the survey questionnaire and a link to the survey formulated using the online survey platform “Google forms”. The survey comprised checklist items inquiring about the nature of professional pharmacy services offered in hospital pharmacies. The responses of the pharmacy directors were received, exported to an Excel sheet, and then to statistical software for analysis. Ten hospitals participated in the survey. The nature of pharmacists' services was mostly distributive pharmacists in six (60%) hospitals. Four hospitals (40%) reported a regular evaluation of physician adherence to medication-use policies. Five hospitals (50%) reviewed compliance with clinical practice guidelines. Seven hospitals (70%) had computerized prescriber order entry (CPOE) systems with clinical decision support systems (CDSSs) to handle the medication orders. Automation was not much implemented in medication distribution, where three hospitals (30%) used automated dispensing cabinets, and three hospitals (30%) routinely utilized machine-readable coding to verify doses before dispensing. Six of the approached hospitals (60%) had an IV admixture preparation area. Pharmacists were not much engaged in clinical services. More efforts are needed to implement electronic technologies to improve the safety and efficiency of medication prescribing, transcribing, and administration. Pharmacists should expand their role in medication use review, compounding sterile preparations, optimizing medication administration records (MAR), and participation in patient care units.