Jaser Saud, Al Aamer Kholoud, Al Anizi Abdulaziz, Javed Nargis Begum, Al-Mohaithef Mohammed
King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Hosp Pharm. 2022 Aug;57(4):488-495. doi: 10.1177/00185787211051645. Epub 2021 Oct 23.
Medication shortage is a serious issue affecting public health and patient care. It causes a major burden on the medical team of a healthcare organization in the delivery of quality care. This study aims to assess the perception of ambulatory care pharmacist about formulary medication shortage as well as to assess the rate of medication shortage and explore the highest classes of the not-available (NA) medication. A cross-sectional survey was performed to assess pharmacist perception regarding medication shortage. The data for NA medication was collected from the hospital health information system "HIS" (Best care) to investigate the type and classes of medication shortage. The overall survey response rate was 92.7%. The majority (61%) of participants encountered 5 to 15 labels of NA medication per day, 43% of participants encountered unpleasant behavior from patients usually due to NA medication and the main reason of patient dissatisfaction was the negative effect of NA medication on their course of therapy. Ninety-seven percent of participants agreed that medication shortage adds extra pressure/workload and 66% agreed that medication shortage increases the chance of medication error. A total of 113 medication shortage was recorded between January and March 2020. The 2 drug classes, which showed maximum shortage, were gastrointestinal and cardiovascular medications. The most prevalent type of medication shortage was for drugs administered by oral route (91.2%). The study provides insights into the frequency, management, and problems confronted due to medication shortage from the pharmacist perception. The study findings highlight the classes and type of medication shortage in the hospital which needs intervention to enhance patient care. The findings of the study would help the higher administration to implement an effective strategy to mitigate the shortage of medication, improve patient satisfaction, and to reduce pharmacist workload.
药品短缺是一个严重影响公共卫生和患者护理的问题。它给医疗机构的医疗团队在提供优质护理方面带来了巨大负担。本研究旨在评估门诊护理药师对处方药品短缺的认知，以及评估药品短缺率，并探究无法获得（NA）药品的最高类别。进行了一项横断面调查，以评估药师对药品短缺的认知。从医院健康信息系统“HIS”（最佳护理系统）收集NA药品的数据，以调查药品短缺的类型和类别。总体调查回复率为92.7%。大多数（61%）参与者每天遇到5至15个NA药品标签，43%的参与者通常因NA药品而遭遇患者的不愉快行为，患者不满的主要原因是NA药品对其治疗过程产生的负面影响。97%的参与者同意药品短缺增加了额外压力/工作量，66%的参与者同意药品短缺增加了用药错误的几率。2020年1月至3月期间共记录了113起药品短缺事件。短缺最多的两类药品是胃肠道和心血管药物。最普遍的药品短缺类型是口服给药的药物（91.2%）。该研究从药师的认知角度深入了解了药品短缺的频率、管理以及所面临的问题。研究结果突出了医院药品短缺的类别和类型，这需要进行干预以加强患者护理。该研究的结果将有助于上级管理部门实施有效的策略来缓解药品短缺、提高患者满意度并减轻药师的工作量。
