Perception, Knowledge and Practices on the Labelling of Dispensed Medicine Among Community Pharmacists and Private Medical Practitioners in the state of Sarawak

Introduction The labelling of dispensed medicines (LDM) has been regulated worldwide to provide sufficient information to patients ensuring the appropriate use of medicines. A past study revealed that the compliance level towards the regulations on LDM among community pharmacists (CPs) and the private medical practitioners (PMPs) in the state of Sarawak was not satisfactory. Objectives To explore the perception, knowledge, and practices of CPs and PMPs on LDM. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted from April 2019 until January 2020. Minimal sample size was calculated; 90 CPs and 150 PMPs. Proportionate stratified random sampling was employed and 96 CPs and 154 PMPs participated. A self-administered structured questionnaire exploring the perception, knowledge and practice on LDM was developed, which was later pre-tested (n=5), and pilot-tested (n=36) with Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.71. Participants consents were taken before enrolling them into the study. Knowledge score was the percentage of correct LDM requirements (as per Regulation 12 of Poisons Regulation 1952) listed by the participants; while practice score was the percentage of LDM requirements filled by the participants on their respective premises dispensed medicine labels. Results The majority of the respondents perceived that it is important (94.8%) and necessary (94.8%) to comply with the requirements on LDM and perceived that they are complying (93.6%) to it. Vast majority of them (97.2%) perceive that poor compliance to LDM requirements would lead to medication errors. The median knowledge score of CPs (66.7%) was statistically and significantly (p=0.004) higher than PMPs (50.0%). Most of them perceived that they know the LDM requirements (97.6%), but their knowledge score on it was poor (both