Introduction The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has made tremendous improvements in its health care infrastructure in a short span of time [1]. Socioeconomic changes in the KSA led to the rise of the middle-class, which means an inevitable increased future demand for health care [2–4]. Although per capita total healthcare has increased to US$1004 in 2015 and the total health expenditure is predicted to increase in the US$44 billion by 2019, growing lifestyle diseases had become a major challenge for the government of the KSA [5–7]. Consequently, there is an increased burden on the Ministry of Health (MoH) to provide primary health care, and the shortages of trained health care professionals at primary health care settings make the situation more challenging [2, 8]. The changing cultural expectation of the need to see a doctor for relatively minor symptoms also increases demand, although arguably not needed [1, 2, 6, 7]. Previous studies in the KSA have reported that many Saudi healthcare consumers frequently visit their local community pharmacy for multiple reasons, including diseaserelated advice, purchasing over-the-counter (OTC) or cosmetic products, and procuring prescription medicines for the treatment or prevention of the progression of chronic conditions [2, 3, 9–11]. The community pharmacies are highly accessible across the KSA, and it is convenient for health care consumers to approach the community pharmacist without appointments or referrals [3, 10, 12]. Furthermore, Saudi health care consumers expect the community pharmacists to play a significant role in improving the health outcomes [3, 9, 10]. Therefore, pharmacists’ involvement in raising public health awareness at the community level and educating the public on prevention and monitoring of lifestyle diseases and improving the quality use of medicines can play a significant role in decreasing the morbidity and mortality from chronic diseases like ischemic heart diseases and diabetes mellitus [3, 5–7, 13]. The potential for community pharmacists to fill the capacity gap in providing extended patient-centered care services to patients in the KSA is a much-needed initiative [3, 14]. Given that the Saudi government has emphasized public-private partnerships for effective primary health care in its vision 2030, there is a significant opportunity for community pharmacies to be part of that vision [2, 4, 15]. Numerous studies conducted in the KSA agreed in principle about the “content” that means a change in the practice of the community pharmacy from its traditional role of providing only dispensing services to the consumers to the providers of patient-centered care [2, 9, 11, 12, 16, 17]. However, there is a paucity of literature on “context,” which means how the internal and external factors can lead to that change and also the “process” and steps needed for the change [18]. Therefore, this study aimed to identify the views of key stakeholders

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The community pharmacy practice change towards patient-centered care in Saudi Arabia: a qualitative perspective.

Clinical pharmacy practice in Saudi Arabia: Historical evolution and future perspective

Introduction: The Saudi Arabian healthcare divisions that recruit and hire pharmacists include hospital pharmacy, community pharmacies, universities, and research centres. Local studies showed that hospital pharmacy is the most preferred sector, while community pharmacy is the least preferred. However, jobs in hospital pharmacy are limited compared to community pharmacy. Hence, to accommodate the increasing numbers of pharmacy graduates and to facilitate the implementation of Saudi Vision 2030, which promotes primary healthcare and the participation of both private and non-governmental organisations in healthcare delivery, community pharmacy ought to be Saudised. This study was conducted to assess the career choices made by Saudi pharmacy students and the enablers that influence their career choice, especially in community pharmacy. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional approach was used. A total of 437 final year pharmacy students were recruited from 15 pharmacy schools around the country. Results: Salary and advancement opportunities as well as geographical location, benefits, and work environment were found to be “very important” enablers when making career decisions. Hospital pharmacy was selected as the most preferred sector by 242 (55.4%) of the participants, while community pharmacy was the least favoured pharmacy sector (17% or 6.2%). The enablers that might influence the consideration of a job in community pharmacy included career aspiration and social accountability. On the other hand, the barriers were personal beliefs about the sector and the nature of the work. Conclusions: The community pharmacy sector was found to be the least preferred sector to work in. The study revealed a list of enablers that the participants found to be relevant or of high relevance when choosing community pharmacy as a career pathway. Some of the enablers contribute to the role of the pharmacist towards the local community, social accountability, and towards the country’s Vision, such as interaction with the general public and educating them. Other enablers are related to the pharmacists’ career aspirations, such as owning a business. Some of the barriers that were found relevant include high workload, inflexible working hours, and limited opportunities for professional development. Localisation of community pharmacies would help to create more jobs for national pharmacists, increase the participation of female pharmacists in the workforce and support the achievement of Vision 2030. The barriers should be tackled on several levels: undergraduate curriculum, regulatory, and actual practice. Undergraduate education needs to include primary pharmaceutical care services in its curriculum. Regulatory changes include enforcing the renationalisation of the community pharmacy sector and permitting females to work in community pharmacies without location restrictions.

https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/9/4589/pdf

A Cross-Sectional Study on Pharmacy Students' Career Choices in the Light of Saudi Vision 2030: Will Community Pharmacy Continue to Be the Most Promising, but Least Preferred, Sector?

Background Healthcare is one of the key focuses of the Saudi Vision 2030. Identifying and acknowledging the strengths and weakness of the healthcare manpower, including pharmacy, are crucial for workforce development and for achievement of the vision. Methods This paper used a global systematic framework tool, the International Pharmaceutical Federation the International 21 Development Goals (FIP DGs), as a roadmap to identify pharmacy workforce development needs. Results An increase in the number of qualified Saudi pharmacy employees was successfully achieved by increasing the number of pharmacy education institutions. Several postgraduate pharmacy programs (Master's and Ph.D.) were also established. Some pharmacy colleges around the country obtained national and international accreditation/certification from reputable quality assurance organizations, such as the NAAA, ACPE and CCAPP. Clinical pharmacy residency programs were expanded to cover various specialties. No comprehensive competency framework exists for pharmacists in Saudi Arabia. A wide range of CDP programs, including electronic courses, have been offered for healthcare practitioners and accredited by SCFHS. While a certain number of CME hours are required for re-registration as a pharmacist, these CME hours are currently not linked to a needs-based health initiative. Several initiatives and strategies have been developed and implemented to address pharmaceutical workforce gender and diversity balances. The pharmacy profession is regulated by the MOH, the SCFHS, and the HRSD. Discussion and Conclusion Among the three clusters of the DGs - Academia, Professional Development, and Systems - Cluster 2, Professional Development, was identified as a priority area for improvement. Within this cluster, these particular DGs were selected as top priority: competency development (DG 5), leadership development (DG 6), and working with others (DG 8). Two DGs in Cluster 3, Systems, were also highlighted as priorities: continuing professional development strategies (DG 9) and impact and outcome (DG 11).

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Using a Global Systematic Framework Tool to Identify Pharmacy Workforce Development Needs: A National Case Study on Saudi Arabia.

The community pharmacy is one setting that plays a crucial role in patient safety. To develop tailored patient safety improvement programs in this setting, it is essential to know the perspectives ...

Exploring patient-safety culture in the community pharmacy setting: a national cross-sectional study.

Background Saudi Arabia has shown rapid growth in its pharmacy workforce and pharmacy education over the last decade. The health indicators demonstrate an increased need for medications and, thus, the accessibility of pharmacies. Since pharmacists are considered the most accessible health care professionals, the country has experienced a continuous demand to produce more pharmacists. Objectives The objectives of the study are to evaluate the pharmacy workforce in Saudi Arabia and to identify pharmaceutical manpower issues. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional approach was used. Data were obtained from the latest version of the Health Statistical Yearbook-Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 2016; Saudi Commission for Health Specialties publications, 2018. Results In general, the exponential increase in the number of pharmacy schools has produced more pharmacists in the rural areas of the country, but inequitable distribution of the workforce still exists. The reliance on nonindigenous pharmacists, especially in the private sector, is substantial. Employed male pharmacists outnumber females, mainly due to the cultural and social factors that limit the participation of women in community pharmacy, which is the largest employment sector. The employment rate shows limited opportunities for Saudi pharmacists at MOH, as they have already Saudised almost all pharmacy positions at their health care facilities. However, the private sector needs to assume responsibility for their share of the renationalisation of the profession in order to provide jobs for local pharmacists. Conclusions Regular, more detailed profiling of the pharmacy workforce is an essential step to achieving effective pharmacy workforce planning. Currently, a large gap exists in our knowledge of the country's workforce.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/hpm.2674

Rayah Asiri

Papers

Pharmacy workforce in Saudi Arabia: Challenges and opportunities: A cross-sectional study.