Multi-stakeholder perspective on community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia: A systematic review and meta-analyses for 2010–2020
Background: Community pharmacists are the third-largest group of healthcare professionals globally; their capacity often extends far beyond dispensing medication, and they are increasingly involved in a diverse range of advanced health service delivery, which can potentially improve public health ou...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667276625000496 |
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| author | Khalid S. Alghamdi Max Petzold Mahdi H. Alsugoor Hafiz A. Makeen Christina Ljungberg Persson Laith Hussain-Alkhateeb |
| author_facet | Khalid S. Alghamdi Max Petzold Mahdi H. Alsugoor Hafiz A. Makeen Christina Ljungberg Persson Laith Hussain-Alkhateeb |
| author_sort | Khalid S. Alghamdi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Community pharmacists are the third-largest group of healthcare professionals globally; their capacity often extends far beyond dispensing medication, and they are increasingly involved in a diverse range of advanced health service delivery, which can potentially improve public health outcomes. Among the many initiatives of the Saudi national transformation program towards Saudi Vision 2030 are plans to transform the current model of community pharmacy services by expanding their role to include patient-centered healthcare provision. Objectives: This systematic literature review (2010−2020) of the multi-stakeholder perspective aimed to evaluate services provided by Saudi community pharmacies and satisfaction levels, investigate perceived factors associated with the practice, and identify barriers affecting services. Materials and methods: Seven scientific electronic databases were searched. The review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. This review was subjected to descriptive analyses, meta-analyses of proportion, and narrative synthesis. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool version 2018 was used to assess the quality of studies. Results: Minimal physician participation, community pharmacies' owners and managers, and gender imbalance among pharmacists all arose as gaps in Saudi Arabia. The findings showed that community pharmacies enable self-medication, with one-third of antibiotics being dispensed without prescriptions despite the threat of law enforcement. The deficiency of patient counseling by community pharmacists threatens patient safety, and the lack of knowledge about clinical services diminishes opportunities for adequate practice. Conclusion: Several factors contributing to this inadequate performance and low satisfaction levels were reported. The findings were alarming and highlighted the need to intensify efforts towards Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to improve the overall population health and healthcare system in Saudi Arabia. Our review suggests that more efforts are needed to integrate key commercial, administrative, and technical sectors associated with the processes of community pharmacy dispensing and counseling. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-70ef7dd9eb184f7f9c06053ead30bc3b |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2667-2766 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy |
| spelling | doaj-art-70ef7dd9eb184f7f9c06053ead30bc3b2025-08-20T03:10:27ZengElsevierExploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy2667-27662025-06-011810060810.1016/j.rcsop.2025.100608Multi-stakeholder perspective on community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia: A systematic review and meta-analyses for 2010–2020Khalid S. Alghamdi0Max Petzold1Mahdi H. Alsugoor2Hafiz A. Makeen3Christina Ljungberg Persson4Laith Hussain-Alkhateeb5School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Box 469, 40530 Göteborg, Sweden; Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Al Baha University, Al Baha, Saudi Arabia; Corresponding author at: School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Box 469, 40530 Göteborg, Sweden.School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Box 469, 40530 Göteborg, SwedenDepartment of Emergency Medical Services, Faculty of Health Sciences, Al-Qunfudah, Umm Al-Qura University, 21912 Makkah, Saudi ArabiaDepartment of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Jazan University, 6809 Jazan, Saudi ArabiaSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Box 469, 40530 Göteborg, SwedenSchool of Public Health and Community Medicine, Institute of Medicine, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, Box 469, 40530 Göteborg, Sweden; Department of Population Health, King Abdullah International Medical Research Centre, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaBackground: Community pharmacists are the third-largest group of healthcare professionals globally; their capacity often extends far beyond dispensing medication, and they are increasingly involved in a diverse range of advanced health service delivery, which can potentially improve public health outcomes. Among the many initiatives of the Saudi national transformation program towards Saudi Vision 2030 are plans to transform the current model of community pharmacy services by expanding their role to include patient-centered healthcare provision. Objectives: This systematic literature review (2010−2020) of the multi-stakeholder perspective aimed to evaluate services provided by Saudi community pharmacies and satisfaction levels, investigate perceived factors associated with the practice, and identify barriers affecting services. Materials and methods: Seven scientific electronic databases were searched. The review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. This review was subjected to descriptive analyses, meta-analyses of proportion, and narrative synthesis. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool version 2018 was used to assess the quality of studies. Results: Minimal physician participation, community pharmacies' owners and managers, and gender imbalance among pharmacists all arose as gaps in Saudi Arabia. The findings showed that community pharmacies enable self-medication, with one-third of antibiotics being dispensed without prescriptions despite the threat of law enforcement. The deficiency of patient counseling by community pharmacists threatens patient safety, and the lack of knowledge about clinical services diminishes opportunities for adequate practice. Conclusion: Several factors contributing to this inadequate performance and low satisfaction levels were reported. The findings were alarming and highlighted the need to intensify efforts towards Saudi Vision 2030, which aims to improve the overall population health and healthcare system in Saudi Arabia. Our review suggests that more efforts are needed to integrate key commercial, administrative, and technical sectors associated with the processes of community pharmacy dispensing and counseling.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667276625000496Community pharmacyPharmacy practiceServicesBarriersSaudi Arabia |
| spellingShingle | Khalid S. Alghamdi Max Petzold Mahdi H. Alsugoor Hafiz A. Makeen Christina Ljungberg Persson Laith Hussain-Alkhateeb Multi-stakeholder perspective on community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia: A systematic review and meta-analyses for 2010–2020 Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy Community pharmacy Pharmacy practice Services Barriers Saudi Arabia |
| title | Multi-stakeholder perspective on community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia: A systematic review and meta-analyses for 2010–2020 |
| title_full | Multi-stakeholder perspective on community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia: A systematic review and meta-analyses for 2010–2020 |
| title_fullStr | Multi-stakeholder perspective on community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia: A systematic review and meta-analyses for 2010–2020 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multi-stakeholder perspective on community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia: A systematic review and meta-analyses for 2010–2020 |
| title_short | Multi-stakeholder perspective on community pharmacy services in Saudi Arabia: A systematic review and meta-analyses for 2010–2020 |
| title_sort | multi stakeholder perspective on community pharmacy services in saudi arabia a systematic review and meta analyses for 2010 2020 |
| topic | Community pharmacy Pharmacy practice Services Barriers Saudi Arabia |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667276625000496 |
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