Awareness and use of tools to identify potentially inappropriate prescribing among physicians and pharmacists in Saudi Arabia: a nationwide cross-sectional study

Background: Potentially inappropriate prescribing (PIP) contributes significantly to treatment burden, specifically in older people. Detecting PIP and improving prescribing practices are therefore crucial for ensuring patient safety and positive outcomes.

Aim: This study aimed to assess physicians' and pharmacists' awareness and use of tools to identify PIP, as well as their confidence in recommending medication for older people.

Method: A national cross-sectional survey was conducted in Saudi Arabia using a 15-item questionnaire. The online questionnaire covered participants' demographics, their experience with PIP tools including awareness, frequency of use and the type of resources utilized. Both open-ended and closed-ended questions were included, with closed-ended questions formatted as multiple-choice and Likert scale. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses of the data was undertaken using Stata version 16.

Results: A total of 271 participants completed the questionnaire, half (n = 138, 50.9%) were pharmacists. Only a third (n = 81, 29.9%) of participants were familiar with PIP tools. Providers focusing on older people were significantly more aware of PIP tools (p < 0.001). Significantly more pharmacists (n = 50, 36.2%) demonstrated an awareness of PIP tools compared to physicians (n = 31, 23.3%) (p = 0.02). Confidence in recommending appropriate medications for older people varied, with 43.9% of participants having moderate confidence.

Conclusion: This study highlights the lack of awareness among physicians and pharmacists in Saudi Arabia regarding the validated PIP tools to support prescribing and medication management practices. There is a need to develop, disseminate and support the use of translated, validated and culturally appropriate PIP tools in this context.