Assiri Abdullah, Iqbal Mir Javid, Gramish Jawaher, Assiri Ahmed, Meraya Abdulkarim, Alhossan Abdulaziz, Khobrani Moteb
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Pharm J. 2021 Jan;29(1):85-90. doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2020.12.009. Epub 2021 Jan 7.
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a public health emergency and during this unprecedented situation, health care providers across the globe are at the frontline in the fight against this disease. Countries that have been severely hit by the pandemic are using pharmacists to help triage patients. In order to ensure the continuity of these services, it is of paramount importance that pharmacists be formally involved and engaged in the management of this pandemic. In response to the underlying knowledge deficit, this study was undertaken as the first of its kind in the entirety of Saudi Arabia.
This study is a questionnaire based cross-sectional study that was carried out for a period of five months from March 2020 to July 2020 to assess the role of working pharmacists in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic under different health care settings across Saudi Arabia.
A total of 398 responses were recorded, in which 51.1% of the respondents were not involved in any learning or awareness activities involving health care providers (HCPs) or patients. The majority of respondents (62.9%) were not involved in creating or evaluating therapeutic plans for COVID19 patients, and 55% were not involved in therapeutic mentoring of COVID19 patients. Only a very low percentage of respondents were participating in COVID19-related research within their institution. Only 37% of respondents reported being satisfied with their role and contribution in the management of COVID-19.
The present study reveals that pharmacists are underutilized in the management of COVID-19 patients in Saudi Arabia. As such, the findings emphasize the importance of enhancing the role and contribution of pharmacists in patient care management across all hospitals and especially under health care crisis conditions. The establishment of a crisis standard of care guideline for all HCPs, including pharmacists, would help in improving patient overall care under crisis conditions like the present COVID-19 pandemic.
2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）是一场突发公共卫生事件，在这种前所未有的情况下，全球医疗保健人员都奋战在抗击该疾病的第一线。受疫情重创的国家正利用药剂师协助对患者进行分流。为确保这些服务的连续性，让药剂师正式参与并投身于这场疫情的管理至关重要。鉴于存在相关知识空白，本研究作为沙特阿拉伯全国范围内的首例此类研究而开展。
本研究是一项基于问卷调查的横断面研究，于2020年3月至2020年7月进行，为期五个月，旨在评估在职药剂师在沙特阿拉伯不同医疗环境下对COVID-19疫情管理中的作用。
共记录到398份回复，其中51.1%的受访者未参与任何涉及医疗保健人员（HCPs）或患者的学习或宣传活动。大多数受访者（62.9%）未参与制定或评估COVID-19患者的治疗方案，55%未参与对COVID-19患者的治疗指导。只有极低比例的受访者在其所在机构参与COVID-19相关研究。只有37%的受访者表示对自己在COVID-19管理中的角色和贡献感到满意。
本研究表明，在沙特阿拉伯，药剂师在COVID-19患者管理中未得到充分利用。因此，研究结果强调了加强药剂师在所有医院患者护理管理中的作用和贡献的重要性，尤其是在医疗保健危机情况下。为包括药剂师在内的所有医疗保健人员制定危机护理标准指南，将有助于在当前COVID-19大流行等危机情况下改善患者的整体护理。
