Knowledge and Perception of Pharmacy Students toward Telepharmacy Education in Saudi Arabia
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design, Settings, and Population
2.2. Study Tool, Sampling, and Sample Size
2.3. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Sociodemographic Characteristics of Participants
3.2. Knowledge of Pharmacy Students Regarding Telepharmacy
3.3. Perception of Pharmacy Students toward Telepharmacy
3.4. Predictors of the Knowledge Score among Pharmacy Students
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Variable | Frequency | Percentage |
---|---|---|
Sex | ||
Female | 262 | 50.1 |
Male | 261 | 49.9 |
Academic year | ||
2nd year | 72 | 13.8 |
3rd year | 108 | 20.7 |
4th year | 192 | 36.7 |
5th year | 77 | 14.7 |
6th year (Internship) | 74 | 14.1 |
Pharmacy program | ||
Bachelor of Pharmacy (B. Pharm) | 156 | 29.8 |
Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm. D) | 367 | 70.2 |
University | ||
Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University | 171 | 32.7 |
King Saud University | 90 | 17.2 |
Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University | 108 | 20.7 |
Taibah University | 68 | 13.0 |
Umm Al-Qura University | 86 | 16.4 |
Have you heard of the term “telepharmacy” before? | ||
Yes | 281 | 53.7 |
No | 242 | 46.3 |
Have you studied telepharmacy as a course or a chapter in your curriculum? | ||
Yes | 139 | 26.6 |
No | 384 | 73.4 |
Have you received any training (as courses or internships) on how to use telepharmacy and telehealth to promote remote patient and healthcare-provider interactions? (n = 139) | ||
Yes | 30 | 21.6 |
No | 109 | 78.4 |
Have you received any simulation exercises for telepharmacy training in your college? (n = 139) | ||
Yes | 17 | 12.2 |
No | 122 | 87.8 |
Question | No N (%) | Yes N (%) |
---|---|---|
I believe that telepharmacy is a practice in which pharmacists use telecommunication technology to manage pharmacies and patient care remotely. | 89 (17.0) | 434 (83.0) |
I believe telepharmacy is the provision of pharmaceutical care to patients residing at a distance through the use of telecommunication and information technologies. | 94 (18.0) | 429 (82.0) |
I believe that telepharmacy helps in reducing infection transmission by providing pharmaceutical care to mildly infected patients remotely. | 126 (24.1) | 397 (75.9) |
I believe that telepharmacy technology can be used virtually anywhere at any time. | 173 (33.1) | 350 (66.9) |
I believe that implementing telepharmacy requires special tools and space in the pharmacy to communicate with patients and healthcare providers. | 159 (30.4) | 364 (69.6) |
I believe that telepharmacy is not an essential service for pharmacists. | 403 (77.1) | 120 (22.9) |
Telepharmacy education should include topics on the use of telecommunication technologies. | 119 (22.8) | 404 (77.2) |
Telepharmacy education should include topics on communication between patients and service providers. | 94 (18.0) | 429 (82.0) |
Telepharmacy education should include topics on payment for such services and policies governing telepharmacy. | 212 (40.5) | 311 (59.5) |
The preparation and training of patients and pharmacists for virtual meetings should be covered in telepharmacy education. | 128 (24.5) | 395 (75.5) |
Question | Strongly Disagree N (%) | Disagree N (%) | Neutral N (%) | Agree N (%) | Strongly Agree N (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
I believe that I have sufficient knowledge about telepharmacy. | 39 (7.5) | 189 (36.1) | 179 (34.2) | 94 (18) | 22 (4.2) |
I believe that only patients with infectious diseases require telepharmacy services. | 156 (29.8) | 216 (41.3) | 76 (14.5) | 54 (10.3) | 21 (4) |
I believe that elderly patients receiving multiple medications (polypharmacy) are the most eligible for telepharmacy services. | 30 (5.7) | 71 (13.6) | 139 (26.6) | 197 (37.7) | 86 (16.4) |
I believe that patients living in rural areas are the most eligible for telepharmacy services. | 15 (2.9) | 37 (7.1) | 141 (27) | 209 (40) | 121 (23.1) |
I believe that it is important to include telepharmacy in undergraduate education in Saudi Arabia. | 10 (1.9) | 26 (5) | 114 (21.8) | 231 (44.2) | 142 (27.2) |
I believe that it is important to initiate telepharmacy training for pharmacists working in Saudi Arabia. | 7 (1.3) | 14 (2.7) | 93 (17.8) | 229 (43.8) | 180 (34.4) |
I believe that the government could encourage telepharmacy implementation during and after the pandemic. | 7 (1.3) | 5 (1) | 78 (14.9) | 221 (42.3) | 212 (40.5) |
I believe that implementing telepharmacy education will increase my ability to identify, prevent, and solve drug-related problems. | 9 (1.7) | 16 (3.1) | 129 (24.7) | 211 (40.3) | 158 (30.2) |
I believe that pharmacist’s involvement in telepharmacy will improve health awareness and the clinical outcomes of patients. | 7 (1.3) | 14 (2.7) | 84 (16.1) | 225 (43) | 193 (36.9) |
I believe that pharmacist’s involvement in telepharmacy will improve the quality of health services. | 6 (1.1) | 4 (0.8) | 95 (18.2) | 216 (41.3) | 202 (38.6) |
I believe that implementing telepharmacy education will improve patient’s appreciation toward the pharmacist’s role. | 11 (2.1) | 20 (3.8) | 117 (22.4) | 216 (41.3) | 159 (30.4) |
I believe that the pharmacy curriculum is too overloaded to accommodate telepharmacy education. | 33 (6.3) | 97 (18.5) | 191 (36.5) | 133 (25.4) | 69 (13.2) |
I believe that I feel more comfortable communicating with the patient face to face than through telepharmacy. | 12 (2.3) | 62 (11.9) | 195 (37.3) | 148 (28.3) | 106 (20.3) |
I believe that in the future, telepharmacy will diminish the social and empathic aspects of care due to automation, decreasing its therapeutic value. | 41 (7.8) | 103 (19.7) | 190 (36.3) | 130 (24.9) | 59 (11.3) |
Telepharmacy services should only be provided by a clinical pharmacist. | 48 (9.2) | 114 (21.8) | 149 (28.5) | 131 (25) | 81 (15.5) |
Pharmacists should focus on drug-dispensing services and leave the provision of telehealth services to physicians. | 140 (26.8) | 128 (24.5) | 114 (21.8) | 101 (19.3) | 40 (7.6) |
Variables | Estimate | SE | p-Value * |
---|---|---|---|
Intercept | −1.81 | 3.44 | 0.60 |
Perception score | 0.11 | 0.02 | <0.0001 * |
Age | 0.01 | 0.145 | 0.95 |
Male | 0.37 | 0.35 | 0.29 |
Female † | |||
Pharm. D Program | 0.24 | 0.53 | 0.65 |
B. Pharm Program † | |||
Heard about Telepharmacy before | 1.22 | 0.43 | 0.01 * |
Did not Heard about Telepharmacy before † | |||
Somewhat confident | 1.56 | 0.60 | 0.01 * |
Very confident | 0.93 | 0.61 | 0.13 |
Not confident† |
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Share and Cite
Alsultan, M.M.; Baraka, M.A.; Alahmari, A.K.; Elrggal, M.E.; Mahmoud, M.A.; Alrasheed, M.A.; Alkahlah, S.O.; Alqarni, A.M.; Alghamdi, M.M.; Al Khzem, A.H.; et al. Knowledge and Perception of Pharmacy Students toward Telepharmacy Education in Saudi Arabia. Healthcare 2024, 12, 1806. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12181806
Alsultan MM, Baraka MA, Alahmari AK, Elrggal ME, Mahmoud MA, Alrasheed MA, Alkahlah SO, Alqarni AM, Alghamdi MM, Al Khzem AH, et al. Knowledge and Perception of Pharmacy Students toward Telepharmacy Education in Saudi Arabia. Healthcare. 2024; 12(18):1806. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12181806
Chicago/Turabian StyleAlsultan, Mohammed M., Mohamed A. Baraka, Abdullah K. Alahmari, Mahmoud E. Elrggal, Mansour A. Mahmoud, Marwan A. Alrasheed, Shahad O. Alkahlah, Arjwan M. Alqarni, Manar M. Alghamdi, Abdulaziz H. Al Khzem, and et al. 2024. "Knowledge and Perception of Pharmacy Students toward Telepharmacy Education in Saudi Arabia" Healthcare 12, no. 18: 1806. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12181806