Alrasheed Marwan A, Alfageh Basmah H, Almohammed Omar A
Department of Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Pharmacoeconomics Research Unit, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia.
Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Aug 31;12(17):1740. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12171740.
Privacy in healthcare is a fundamental right essential to maintain patient confidentiality and trust. Community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia (SA) play a critical role in the healthcare system by providing accessible services and serving as initial points of contact for medical advice. However, the open nature of these settings poses significant challenges in maintaining patient privacy.
This cross-sectional study used electronic surveys distributed across various online platforms. The target sample included Saudi adults, with a sample size of 385 participants to achieve 80% statistical power at a 95% confidence interval. The survey comprised demographic questions and sections evaluating perceptions of privacy, the importance of privacy, and personal experiences regarding privacy in community pharmacies. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used for the analysis.
A total of 511 responses were obtained. The mean age was 33.5 years, with an almost equal distribution of males (49.71%) and females (50.29%). Most participants held a bachelor's degree or higher (78.67%). Privacy perceptions varied, with only 9.0% strongly agreeing that there was a private space for consultations, while 64.0% felt that the design of community pharmacies did not adequately consider patient privacy, and 86.9% reported that conversations could be overheard. Privacy concerns were notable, with almost one-half of the participants (47.6%) having concerns about privacy and 56.6% doubting the confidentiality of their health information. Moreover, 17.6% reported being asked for unnecessary personal information when buying medication, and 56.2% admitted to avoiding discussing a health problem with the pharmacist due to privacy concerns. Experiences of privacy breaches were reported by 15.7% of respondents. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the availability of private space in the pharmacy and patients feeling that the pharmacy respects their privacy were associated with a lower likelihood of avoiding discussions with pharmacists due to privacy concerns (OR = 0.758, CI = 0.599-0.0957 and OR = 0.715, CI = 0.542-0.945 respectively) Conversely, greater privacy concerns and previous privacy breaches significantly increased the likelihood of avoiding discussions with pharmacists in the community pharmacy (OR = 1.657, CI = 1.317-2.102 and OR = 4.127, CI = 1.886-9.821 respectively).
This study highlights the significant concerns regarding privacy practices in community pharmacies in SA. Thus, there is a need for standards to improve privacy in community pharmacies, such as mandating the need for private consultation areas and enhanced staff training on handling privacy-related issues. Addressing the issue of privacy is crucial for maintaining patient trust, improving healthcare service quality, and ensuring effective patient-pharmacist interactions.
医疗保健中的隐私是维护患者保密性和信任的一项基本权利。沙特阿拉伯（SA）的社区药房在医疗保健系统中发挥着关键作用，通过提供便捷的服务并作为医疗建议的初始联系点。然而，这些场所的开放性在维护患者隐私方面带来了重大挑战。
这项横断面研究使用了在各种在线平台上分发的电子调查问卷。目标样本包括沙特成年人，样本量为385名参与者，以在95%置信区间达到80%的统计功效。该调查包括人口统计学问题以及评估对隐私的看法、隐私的重要性以及在社区药房中有关隐私的个人经历的部分。使用描述性统计和逻辑回归模型进行分析。
总共获得了511份回复。平均年龄为33.5岁，男性（49.71%）和女性（50.29%）分布几乎相等。大多数参与者拥有学士学位或更高学历（78.67%）。对隐私的看法各不相同，只有9.0%的人强烈同意存在用于咨询的私人空间，而64.0%的人认为社区药房的设计没有充分考虑患者隐私，86.9%的人报告说谈话可能会被偷听。对隐私的担忧很明显，近一半的参与者（47.6%）担心隐私，56.6%的人怀疑他们健康信息的保密性。此外，17.6%的人报告在购买药品时被询问不必要的个人信息，56.2%的人承认由于隐私问题而避免与药剂师讨论健康问题。15.7%的受访者报告有隐私泄露的经历。逻辑回归分析显示，药房中私人空间的可用性以及患者感觉药房尊重他们的隐私与因隐私问题而避免与药剂师讨论的可能性较低相关（分别为OR = 0.758，CI = 0.599 - 0.0957和OR = 0.715，CI = 0.542 - 0.945）。相反，更大的隐私担忧和以前的隐私泄露显著增加了在社区药房中避免与药剂师讨论的可能性（分别为OR = 1.657，CI = 1.317 - 2.102和OR = 4.127，CI = 1.886 - 9.821）。
本研究强调了沙特社区药房在隐私实践方面的重大担忧。因此，需要制定标准来改善社区药房的隐私，例如规定需要有私人咨询区域以及加强工作人员在处理与隐私相关问题方面的培训。解决隐私问题对于维护患者信任、提高医疗服务质量以及确保有效的患者 - 药剂师互动至关重要。
