@article {158, title = {Privileges of Pharmacist in Saudi Arabia: Administration and Management}, journal = {PTB Reports}, volume = {6}, year = {2020}, month = {March 2020}, pages = {7-12}, type = {Research Article}, chapter = {7}, abstract = {

Objectives: To explore the privileges of pharmacists through the pharmacy administration and management in Saudi Arabia. Methods: This is a 4-month cross-sectional survey regarding the privileges of pharmacists in Saudi Arabia. The study consisted of two parts: the first part collected demographic information and the second part comprised a questionnaire with 28 questions divided into 4 domains. The questions were derived from previous literature and from the regulatory standards of the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP). The four domains were as follows: privilege management and resources, pharmacist prescribing and therapeutic interchange, clinical and administration privilege and drug monitoring and healthcare education. The responses were obtained using a 5-point Likert response scale system with close- and open-ended questions. The survey questionnaire was distributed in an electronic format to the hospital{\textquoteright}s director of pharmacy of each hospital in Saudi Arabia. In this study, we analyzed pharmacist{\textquoteright}s privilege in Saudi Arabia with regard to the pharmacy administration and management. All data were obtained through the Survey Monkey system. Results: The survey was distributed to 36 hospitals. The administration-related elements of pharmacist privilege with maximum score were policies and procedures of pharmacist{\textquoteright}s privilege (3.88 (77.6\%)) followed by the vision of pharmacist privilege (3.57 (71.4\%)) and pharmacist privilege in the job description (3.56 (71.2\%)). The average score of pharmacist privilege in the hospital committees was 3.47 (69.40\%). Most of the committees having pharmacist privilege was the patient or medication safety committee (4.09 (81.8\%)) followed by the pharmacy and therapeutic committee (4.06 (81.2\%)) and quality management committee (4.06 (81.2\%)). The average score of pharmacist privilege in the teams was 3.44 (68.85\%). The majority of the teams having pharmacist privilege was antibiotics team (4.25 (85\%)) followed by anticoagulation team (3.86 (77.2\%)) and IV therapy team (3.81 (76.2\%)). Conclusion: The privileges of a pharmacists is inadequate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Future programs should target to improve the healthcare system and expand pharmacists{\textquoteright} role in the hospital practice. This might improve the pharmaceutical care services and patient outcomes and prevent drug-related problems and unnecessary economic expenditure on the healthcare practice in Saudi Arabia.

}, keywords = {Administration, Management, Pharmacist, Privileges, Saudi Arabia}, doi = {10.5530/PTB.2020.6.2}, author = {Faisal Al-Otaibi and Mohamed Soliman Imam and Randa Mansour Abdel-Sattar Ahmed and Amsha Alotaibi and Asma Alotaibi and Amal Alotaibi and Wesam Alsuwaid and Yousef Ahmed Alomi} }