Knowledge and Barriers Among Physicians Toward Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: Spontaneous reporting systems are essential as they help detect serious unknown adverse drug reaction (ADR). However, underreporting of ADR is a commonly associated problem. This research work aims to assess knowledge, barriers, and factors that encourage the reporting of ADR among physicians. METHODS: A total of 600 physicians working at a tertiary referral hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were included in this cross-sectional study. A pretested questionnaire was used. RESULTS: Out of the 600 physicians, 240 (40%) completed the questionnaire. Most of the participants (85.4%) could correctly define ADR; nearly 75% physicians were unaware of the spontaneous reporting of ADR in Saudi Arabia. A total of 175 (72.9%) physicians had not reported any ADR among their patients in the last year; 40% of the physicians said that they did not report ADR because they were unaware of the online reporting of ADR. Providing guidelines and regular bulletins on the reporting of ADR is a critical aspect that encourages physicians to report ADR (51%). Education and training are the most recognized measures for improving the reporting of ADR. CONCLUSION: Physicians were adequately aware of ADR but inadequately aware of the reporting system and reporting authorities. Continuing medical education, training, and integration of the reporting of ADR into physicians' various clinical activities may improve ADR reporting.

Information seeking behavior and awareness among physicians regarding drug information centers in Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND: The role of Drug Information Center (DIC) in a health-care setting has increased tremendously owing to the high influx of pharmaceutical molecules that pose serious challenges to physicians. DIC promotes rational prescribing behavior among physicians, leading to better patient outcome. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore information-seeking behaviors and awareness of physicians regarding DIC services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among physicians working in government and private sectors between June to November 2018 by using an 18-item electronic anonymous questionnaire. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed using IBM SPSS (Version 21). A P-value of <0.05 was taken as the level of significance between responses. RESULTS: In total, 500 questionnaires were distributed among the included hospitals, and only 254 physicians (response rate: 50.8%), including 193 males (76%), participated in the study. The majority of participants (n = 83, 32.7%) had more than ten years of experience, and many of the respondents (n=131) worked as residents. Most of the physicians (62.9%) were aware of their institutional DIC. UpToDate was the most preferred drug information database among physicians. Regarding the improvement required in the DIC services, most of the physicians (23.6%) opined that the contact details should be available in all clinical wards. CONCLUSIONS: Only 10% of the respondents were not aware of the presence of DIC at their institution. The UpToDate online drug information database was the most frequently used database by the physicians. Our findings showed that there is a need for conducting educational programs for physicians regarding DIC services. Such an attempt can increase the frequency of drug-related queries and promote patient safety.

Knowledge and Attitude of Health-Care Professionals Toward Adverse Drug Reactions Reporting at King Saud Medical City.

BACKGROUND: Health-care professionals across the globe are obligated to report adverse drug reactions (ADRs). The knowledge of ADRs and attitude of health-care professionals toward ADRs reporting is vital for patient safety. This study intends to investigate the knowledge of ADRs and attitude of health-care professionals toward ADRs reporting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study using an anonymous questionnaire was conducted over a period of 3 months (September 2016 to November 2016) at King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This study included 399 questionnaires submitted by health-care professionals. RESULTS: A total of 399 questionnaires were submitted by health-care professionals, of which only 14.8% knew the term "ADR" and 55.1% of the respondents reported ADRs during their practice. A total of 93.8% of the respondents agreed that ADR reporting should be made mandatory for health-care professionals, and 94.5% agreed that it improves the patient safety. CONCLUSION: The findings generally indicate that health-care professionals in a tertiary care setting have low awareness regarding the term "ADR." Lack of pharmacovigilance training, amount of workload, and legal liabilities are the main causes of underreporting. More than half of the respondents agreed that ADR reporting eventually improves patient safety.