Table 2.
Medication safety practices in Saudi Arabia hospitals.
| Factor | ∗Number of Hospitals N (%) |
|---|---|
| Medication Safety Committee and error reporting systems | |
| Medication safety committee | 22 (28) |
| Medication safety director | 7 (9) |
| Paper-based error reporting system used | 59 (76) |
| Electronic error reporting system implemented | 6 (12) |
| Look-Alike sound-Alike (LASA) medications | |
| List (LASA) medications | 26 (33) |
| Mechanism for reviewing LASA medications | 20 (47) |
| Mechanism to prevent LASA medications | 35 (57) |
| Education on LASA medications | 38 (50) |
| Medications stored in pharmacy alphabetically | 57 (73) |
| Diagnosis field exists in the prescription or drug order | 73 (95) |
| Both brand and generic names included on medication labels | 20 (27) |
| Control of concentrated electrolyte solution | |
| Concentrated electrolytes found on floor stock | 47 (60) |
| Second person verifies final concentrations of parenteral electrolyte solutions including calculations | 39 (53) |
| High-risk warning label used on diluted electrolyte solution | 26 (34) |
| Transition in care | |
| New order required with patient admission or transfer | 46 (59) |
| Orders “resume the same medications” are accepted | 44 (56) |
| Policy to update medication list exists | 52 (70) |
| Complete drug history taken | 71 (95) |
| Pharmacist takes medication history | 0 |
| Current medications list put in consistent highly visible location | 61 (81) |
| Written policies and procedures to list and update the medication list | 41 (57) |
| Current medication list updated with new physician orders | 62 (83) |
| List of discharge medications | 27 (37) |
| Health care professionals educated on procedures for reconciling medications | 18 (24) |
| Information Technology | |
| Electronic access to inpatient laboratory values | 34 (44) |
| Medication bar coding | 9 (12) |
| Electronic medication administration record | 21 (29) |
| Pharmacy uses computer to enter prescription | 45 (61) |
| Patient allergy history is required to enter an order | 13 (39) |
| Drug allergy verified | 24 (55) |
| Pharmacy computer screens drug for drug allergy | 13 (29) |
| Allergy list is clearly visible on all pages of medication administration records | 53 (77) |
| Computer is directly interfaced with the laboratory | 10 (14) |
| Body weight is a required field | 8 (11) |
| Drug Information | |
| Drug information resources in all patient care areas | 47 (61) |
| Computerized drug information resources in the pharmacy | 33 (43) |
| Other Medication Safety Practices | |
| Renal or hepatic dosage adjustment for relevant patients | 18 (24) |
| Maximum dose for high alert drug | 20 (27) |
| Controlled drug formulary system | 57 (75) |
| A list of error prone abbreviations is available | 38 (50) |
| Unit dose system implemented | 70 (93) |
| Medications brought from home by patient are not used | 60 (83) |
| Discontinued medications are removed from patient supplies in a timely manner | 62 (86) |
| Pharmacy staff receive baseline competency evaluation | 42 (56) |
∗Total number of hospitals = 78.