China’s regional inequity in pharmacist’s drug safety practice

BACKGROUND The promotion of patient safety and drug safety through promotion of pharmacist's drug safety practice was among the most important aims of China's health delivery system reform, but regional inequity in pharmacist's drug safety practice was still serious in China. METHODS The 2011 national patient safety and medication error baseline survey was carried out for the first time in China, and through analyzing dataset from the survey, this study was set up to test both China's regional inequity in pharmacist's drug safety practice and major influencing factors for pharmacist's drug safety practice among different districts of China. RESULTS Pharmacist's drug safety practice in regions with higher per capita GDP and more abundant medical resources was still better than that in regions with lower per capita GDP and less abundant medical resources. In all districts of China, pharmacist's drug safety knowledge, drug safety attitude, self-perceived pressure and fatigue, hospital management quality, and hospital regulation were major influencing factors for pharmacist's drug safety practice, while only in regions with higher per capita GDP and more abundant medical resources, hospital drug safety culture, supervisor's work team management, cooperation atmosphere of work team, and drug safety culture of work team were major influencing factors for pharmacist's drug safety practice. CONCLUSION Regional inequity in pharmacist's drug safety practice still existed in China. In all districts of China, promoting pharmacist's drug safety knowledge, drug safety attitude, self-perceived pressure and fatigue, hospital management quality, and hospital regulation could help promote pharmacist's drug safety practice, while only in regions with higher per capita GDP and more abundant medical resources, promoting hospital drug safety culture, supervisor's work team management, cooperation atmosphere of work team, and drug safety culture of work team could help promote pharmacist's drug safety practice. And in regions with lower per capita GDP and less abundant medical resources, the link between pharmacist's drug safety practice and hospital drug safety culture/supervisor's work team management/cooperation atmosphere of work team/drug safety culture of work team should also be gradually established.