Pharmacists' Knowledge, and Insights in Implementing Pharmacogenomics in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Pharmacogenomics (PGx) and personalized medicine embrace the potential to optimize drug treatment and improve the patient's quality of life. Pharmacists' roles include contributing to genetic testing, patient counseling, and pharmacotherapies selection for superior treatment outcomes. The aim of this study is to assess the pharmacists' knowledge, insight, and self-confidence toward PGx testing, identify their future preferred education patterns, and determine the barriers to pharmacogenomic testing implementation.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a previously validated questionnaire among pharmacists working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The questionnaire was designed in seven major categories, consisting of 26 questions.

Results: A total of 671 pharmacists participated in this survey. As for knowledge, only 29.8% of pharmacists had good knowledge regarding PGx, while 42.9% had poor knowledge levels. Respectable PGx knowledge was significantly higher among outpatient dispensing pharmacists (33.6%; p = 0.049) and among pharmacists who had completed PGx testing-related training or education (40.3%; p = 0.001). Considering perception, it was positive among 50% of pharmacists and negative among 19.8%. With regard to self-confidence, it was high among 39.2% of male pharmacists (p = 0.042), among 43% of clinical pharmacists (p = 0.006), and among 44.8% of pharmacists who had extra credentials (p = 0.001). The utmost favored continuing-education learning approaches were workshops or seminars. The barriers to the implementation of PGx testing included a lack of testing devices, clinical guidelines, training or education, and personnel.

Conclusion: The present study revealed that pharmacists in KSA had inadequate knowledge and understanding of PGx. Nevertheless, the majority established that PGx is a valuable tool for augmenting drug efficacy and safety.

Keywords: education; pharmacists; pharmacogenomics; self-confidence.

Figure 1

Knowledge, perception, and self-confidence among pharmacists working in KSA regarding PGx.

Figure 2

Participants preferred continuing-education program learning styles and the challenges the pharmacists face in implementing pharmacogenetic testing in their clinical practice.