The status of licensed pharmacy workforce in Saudi Arabia: a 2030 economic vision perspective

• Published in: Human resources for health Vol. 16; no. 1; p. 28
• Main Authors: AlRuthia, Yazed, Alsenaidy, Mohammad A, Alrabiah, Haitham K, AlMuhaisen, Abdullah, Alshehri, Mohammad
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 28-06-2018; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Accreditation; Analysis; Colleges & universities; Community pharmacy; Drug Industry; Drug stores; Economic conditions; Emigrants and Immigrants; Employment; Employment - statistics & numerical data; Ethnic Groups; Expatriates; Health education; Health Facilities; Health Workforce - statistics & numerical data; Hospitals; Humans; Labor force; Labor market; Licensure; Nationalization; Pharmaceutical industry; Pharmaceutical Services; Pharmacies; Pharmacist; Pharmacists; Pharmacists - statistics & numerical data; Pharmacy workforce; Practice; Private Sector; Saudi Arabia; Schools; Students; Surveys and Questionnaires; Unemployment; Workforce; Saudi Arabia; Pharmacy workforce; Pharmacist; Community pharmacy
• ISSN: 1478-4491; 1478-4491
• DOI: 10.1186/s12960-018-0294-8

The economy of Saudi Arabia is currently undergoing a major transformation which will have an impact on employment in the pharmacy sector. However, quantitative data characterizing the pharmacy workforce in the Kingdom are currently not available. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the current status of the licensed pharmacy workforce in the pharmacy field in Saudi Arabia.
Descriptive statistics were performed on data from the Saudi Commission for Health Specialties (SCFHS) as of March 2017.
The labor market for pharmacists in Saudi Arabia is dominated by expatriates. Saudi nationals constitute less than 20% of the pharmacists employed in the Kingdom. The underemployment of Saudis is most evident in the largest sectors of the pharmacy field, namely, private health care establishments, community pharmacies, and pharmaceutical companies.
There is an unmet need to train Saudi citizens as pharmacists and retain them in the workforce. Addressing this issue should become an important objective in Saudi Arabia's Vision for 2030.