Adoption of electronic patient medication records in community pharmacies in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Background: Access to accurate and relevant patient health information is crucial for community pharmacists to deliver high-quality care. The use of electronic patient medication records (e-PMR) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is currently limited to hospital settings, and community pharmacists do not have access to patient records. Objective: To evaluate the perceptions of community pharmacists regarding the potential benefits, barriers, and concerns associated with the implementation of the e-PMR system in community pharmacies in the UAE. Method: A validated questionnaire was administered to a sample of licensed community pharmacists using proportionate random sampling. The survey was structured and consisted of 40 questions in four sections: characteristics of community pharmacists and pharmacies; perceived usefulness of e-PMR; perceived barriers; and concerns about the use of e-PMR. Results: In total, 552 pharmacists filled out the questionnaire (82.1% response rate). The majority of participants somewhat or strongly agreed that e-PMR would reduce drug abuse (71.6%), dispensing errors (64.4%) and prescribing errors (69.0%), and believed that e-PMR would enhance pharmacists’ ability to perform medication reviews (76.0%). Pharmacists in charge (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 2.5; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.6–3.6), facing difficulty tracking the medical history of patients (AOR = 3.2; 95% CI: 2.8–3.9) and working in pharmacies providing telepharmacy services (AOR = 3.4; 95% CI: 2.7–3.8) were more likely to consider e-PMR useful. Implications: The implementation of the e-PMR system in community pharmacies has potential benefits for patient safety and medication therapy management in the UAE.