United Arab Emirates Pharmacists’ Practices and Views on Adverse Drug Reaction and Medication Error Reporting and Health Professionals’ Expectations

Adverse drug reactions (ADRs) constitute a huge burden on health systems, and medication errors (MEs) are the most common preventable cause of adverse drug events. In developed countries pharmacists contribute to a great extent in ADR monitoring and reporting, improving patient quality of care and safety. This review aims to explore pharmacists’ practices and views on ADR reporting, extent and causes of MEs and other health professionals expectations of pharmacists in this regards. An extensive literature search was conducted using pertinent electronic health databases (ProQuest, PubMed, Embase, and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health Literature). Hand-searching of the references retrieved was also performed. Very few studies were found, none report the prevalence or severity of MEs. Under-reporting of ADRs is common place among community pharmacists in the UAE. Overall physicians expressed positive views about clinical pharmacists’ role in medication reviews to identify and prevent drug interactions and improve patients’ clinical outcomes. More research is required to enhance ADR reporting and reduce MEs in the UAE. Training about the process of ADR monitoring and reporting at undergraduate level across health science disciplines and continued education and development led by pharmacists is vital to improve patient safety.