Abstract
The Ministry of Health (MOH) in Saudi Arabia was digitizing healthcare, including pharmaceutical care services. Wasfaty service was introduced and launched across Saudi Arabia with the aim of transferring pharmaceutical care services from primary healthcare centers (PHCs) to community pharmacies. The MOH implemented this service as part of measures to facilitate medication-dispensing services. This study explored the community Pharmacist's perceptions toward the current transition of pharmaceutical care service from PHCs to the Wasfaty service. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with community pharmacists in the Jazan region. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, translated into English, and then thematically analyzed. Nine community pharmacists with a mean of fifteen months' experience as a community pharmacist were interviewed between January to March 2022. Three main themes were generated: Knowledge about Wasfaty service, attitude toward Wasfaty services, and logistics and implications. The attitudes of community pharmacists were primarily negative for reasons such as workload and lack of pharmacists-prescribers communication. However, pharmacists described several benefits of Wasfaty service, such as improving prescribing process and reducing medication dispensing errors. The identified barriers and benefits have provided valuable information on what community pharmacists face in using Wasfaty service in their routine practice. This provides a way to enhance the Wasfaty service to meet the community pharmacist's needs and satisfy their concerns. Pharmacists suggest several potential solutions to support the successful use of Wasfaty service (e-prescribing systems) in community pharmacies.