Objective:The objectives of this study were to evaluate the perceptions, expectations and experience of physicians with hospital-based pharmacists in Kuwait. Materials and Methods: A piloted self-administered questionnaire was hand delivered to 200 physicians practicing in four government hospitals in Kuwait. Main sections of the questionnaire comprised a series of statements pertaining to physicians’ perceptions, expectations and experiences with pharmacists. Results: One hundred and twenty (60%) questionnaires were returned. At least 57% of physicians in Kuwait appear comfortable with pharmacists carrying out patient-directed roles. In addition, they appeared to have high expectations of pharmacists, with 79% of them regarding pharmacists as knowledgeable drug therapy experts. Less than 60% considered pharmacists as applying their drug knowledge in practice and only 29% agreed that pharmacists routinely counselled their patients. There was no correlation between physician variables such as number of years since graduation from medical school, age, area of practice and their perceptions of pharmacists. Conclusion: Physicians in Kuwait appear comfortable with pharmacists providing a broad range of services but appear somewhat less comfortable with pharmacists’ provision of direct patient care. Physicians considered pharmacists knowledgeable drug therapy experts, but regarded them as not routinely providing a broad range of higher-level pharmacy services.

Our findings indicate problem areas in prescribing and dispensing practices at the healthcare centers in Kuwait. Cost-effective, multifaceted interventions to improve current prescribing and dispensing practices are needed.

Objective To assess the acceptability and effectiveness of two educational initiatives on patterns of antidepressant medication use in depressed Kuwaiti patients. Setting Patients were interviewed on three occasions at the Psychological Medicine Hospital, Kuwait. Method Two‐hundred and seventy‐eight patients attending a hospital outpatient clinic in Kuwait and receiving a single antidepressant for mild or moderate depression were randomised into a control and two treatment groups. Medication was dispensed from the pharmacy as normal. However, members of the treatment groups additionally received a patient information leaflet (PIL) written in Arabic with or without counselling from a clinical pharmacist. Medication adherence was monitored 2 months and 5 months later by self‐report and tablet counting. Patient knowledge of medication and the acceptability of the educational interventions were assessed after 2 months using questionnaires. Key findings Patients in each of the treatment groups had an improved knowledge of the rationale behind their therapy. Clinic attendance was more likely when patients had received a PIL (odds ratio (OR) 2.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3‐3.2) or a PIL plus counselling (OR 3.2, CI 2.1–4.9). Good medication adherence at 2 and 5 months was more common in patients who were given a PIL (OR 3.0, CI 1.7‐5.3) or a PIL plus counselling (OR 5.5, CI 3.2–9.6). Certain pre‐existing patient attitudes to therapy and the occurrence of side‐effects were not determinants of adherence. Conclusions Patient responses to each of these educational interventions were very positive. After 5 months, patients receiving a PIL were more likely to be adhering to their medication regimen, particularly when they had also received counselling from a clinical pharmacist.

No abstract