International Journal of Pharmacology and Clinical Sciences, 2018, 7, 4, 26-30.
DOI: 10.5530/ijpcs.2018.7.6
Published: November 2018
Type: Research Article
Authors: Yousef Ahmed Alomi, Saeed Jamaan Alghamdi, and Radi Abdullah Alattyh
Author(s) affiliations:
Yousef Ahmed Alomi1,* , Saeed Jamaan Alghamdi2, Radi Abdullah Alattyh2
1The Past General Manager of General Administration of Pharmaceutical Care, The Past Head, National Clinical pharmacy and pharmacy practice, The Past Head, Pharmacy R and D Administration, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
2General Administration of Pharmaceutical Care, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, SAUDI ARABIA.
Abstract
Objective: To explore the practice at the National Survey of Drug Information Centers in Saudi Arabia with an emphasis on Evidence-Based Medicine-Therapeutics Guidelines (EBM-TGs) System at Ministry of Health hospitals. Methods: This is a 4-month crosssectional national survey of the Drug Information Services at MOH. The survey contains 10 domains with a total of 181 questions designed by the authors. The questions were derived from the International Pharmaceutical Federation, American Society of Health- System Pharmacists best practice guidelines. The survey was distributed to 40 hospital pharmacies that run drug information services. In this study, the domain Medication- Use Evaluation System was explored and analyzed. It consisted of seven questions about the written policies and procedures and application methods for EBM-TG in the drug information centers. The data were analyzed through the Survey Monkey system. Results: The response rate was found to be around 88.88%. According to the results, written policies and procedures for EBM-TGs existed only in 18 (45%) hospitals and approximately 25–100% of the elements implementations. EBM-TG monitoring system is available live in only 17 (42.5%) hospitals applying approximately 25–100% of the elements. According to our results, in only 18 (45%) hospitals, the patients receive appropriate care due to EBM-TGs. There is evidence that the EBM-TG Indicators existed in only 19 (45.5%) hospitals applying approximately 25–100% of the elements. Process for improving EBM-TG system exists in 20 (50%) hospitals applying approximately 25–100% of the elements. Conclusion: There a poor application of EBM-TGs in the practice of drug information centers. Implementation of EBM-TG system improves patient outcomes which avoids unnecessary additional costs in the healthcare system.
Keywords: Drug Information Centers, Evidence-Based Medicine, Saudi Arabia, Therapeutics Guidelines