Patients’ perspectives and experiences with the national e-prescribing service and transfer of pharmaceutical services to community pharmacies in Saudi Arabia

Background and purpose: The Wasfaty (My e-prescription) service, introduced recently and continuously expanding, is a national service for e-prescribing and dispensing medicines in Saudi Arabia. This service introduced e-prescriptions and transferred the dispensing of medicines and pharmacy services from public primary healthcare facilities to community pharmacies. This study aimed to assess patients’ perspectives on and experiences with the service. Methods: This nationwide, cross-sectional study used a web-based survey. The study population comprised the general public of Saudi Arabia aged ≥18 years. The invitation to participate in the study and link to the survey were distributed electronically through several electronic platforms. Results: A total of 718 individuals participated in the study (66.30 % women). Most participants were satisfied with the e-prescriptions and Wasfaty services (n = 571; 79.53 %), preferred e-prescriptions over traditional paper prescriptions (n = 576; 80.22%), and found it easier to renew their e-prescriptions and refill their medicines using the community pharmacy's Wasfaty services, which saved time on re-appointments with physicians (n = 568; 79.11 %). Moreover, most participants indicated that there were sufficient community pharmacies to provide Wasfaty services near their area of residence (n = 558; 77.72 %) and agreed that community pharmacists provided adequate medication counseling (n = 560; 77.99 %) and advice on disease monitoring at home (n = 468; 65.18 %). However, only 355 (49.44 %) participants indicated that community pharmacies had suitable areas for private medication counseling. Furthermore, only 40.11 % (n = 288) of the participants mentioned that they never or rarely visited more than one pharmacy to obtain all their prescribed medicines using the e-prescription service. Finally, 634 (88.30 %) participants suggested adding more medicines and therapeutic options to service coverage and ensuring the availability of medicines in pharmacies. Conclusion: Most participants had positive views regarding e-prescriptions and the accessibility of the community pharmacies providing this service. However, further improvements must be made to pharmacy facilities (particularly patient care areas), advanced pharmacy services, and the availability of all medicines in the community pharmacies participating in e-prescription services.