Knowledge, Perception, and Practices on the Labelling of Dispensed Medicine among Community Pharmacists and General Practitioners in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia

BACKGROUND: The labelling of dispensed medicines (LDM) ensures that optimum therapy is achieved, and medication errors are prevented. In Malaysia, LDM is enforced under Poisons Act 1952.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the knowledge, perception, and practices of community pharmacists (CP) and general practitioners (GP) on LDM.

METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2019 until March 2020 among CP and GP practising in Sarawak, Malaysia. Sample sizes were 90 and 150 for CP and GP, respectively. A self-administered structured questionnaire which was pre-tested and pilot-tested was employed to explore the knowledge and perception. Practices were assessed by having participants prepare dispensed medicine labels (DML) using simulated patients and prescriptions.

RESULTS: 250 participants; 96 CP and 154 GP participated. While most of them perceived that they know the requirements of LDM (n=244; 97.6%), their median knowledge score was poor (57.1%). The median knowledge score of CP (66.7%) was significantly higher (P=0.004) than GP (50.0%). The majority of participants perceived that LDM is important (n= 237; 94.8%) and necessary (n=239; 95.6%%) and perceived that poor compliance to the requirements would lead to medication errors (n=243; 97.2%). Although their knowledge was poor, their median practice score (100.0%) was excellent. There was no correlation between knowledge and perception with the practice on LDM.

CONCLUSION: The majority of CP and GP perceived that LDM is important. Interestingly, although their knowledge of the requirements of LDM was poor, their practices were good. (236 words).