Drug information centers in Saudi Arabia: evaluation of community pharmacists in Riyadh city

ABSTRACT

A survey of Riyadh community pharmacists was conducted to evaluate the available drug information resources, to highlight the role of pharmacists in providing drug information services [DIS], to determine the frequency and the type of questions received by community pharmacists, to define the need for drug information services and to reveal factors that inhibit pharmacists from providing such services. The questionnaires were distributed to representative samples of pharmacies from five different areas in Riyadh city, 90 out of 125 questionnaires were filled out. The results indicated that libraries of the community pharmacists were inadequate. The reference textbooks most frequently found were Martindale and British National Formulary [BNF]. The majority of pharmacists were actively involved in dissemination of drug information to both consumers and physicians. Many pharmacists realize their role in providing DIS. Information on pregnancy and lactation and recommended dose was rated as important needs by 92.2% and 86.7% of the pharmacists respectively. Several factors were found to inhibit pharmacists from providing DIS. The most important are lack of time, minimal support from owner and inadequate availability of references. The survey indicates the need for improvement in their reference materials to handle questions more adequately. Moreover, guidelines should be instituted to aid pharmacists in patient counseling and education. Likewise, community pharmacists should be encouraged to utilize the local drug information centers, or establish their own drug information centers