The Role of Automated Drug Dispensing Systems in Enhancing Patient Safety Through Smart Medication Inventory Management in Ministry of Health Hospitals in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The problems of medication errors and inefficient inventory management of hospital pharmacies have become a long-standing threat to patient safety and efficiency in healthcare, especially in large-scale public health systems. Although the Automated Drug Dispensing Systems (ADDS) have been adopted on the international level, there has been a major knowledge gap on their overall effects at the local level of the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MOH) hospitals, where the scale of operations and the cultural aspect may have a unique effect. The proposed study was meant to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the contribution of ADDS to patient safety improvement via smart medication inventory management. A cross-sectional, mixed-methods study was done in three large MOH hospitals, which combined a 24-month retrospective audit of operational data with a cross-sectional survey of 120 healthcare professionals. Paired t-tests and regression analysis were used to analyze quantitative data on error rates, near-miss captures, and inventory measurements, and the analysis of qualitative data on the perception of staff was conducted by utilizing thematic analysis. ADDS implementation was accompanied by a statistically significant decrease in the rate of medication dispensing errors between 12.81 and 3.92 per 10,000 orders (mean difference: -8.89, 95% CI: -9.71 to -8.07, p < 0.001) and a significant increase in the inventory turnover between 4.08 and 6.52 (p < 0.001). Moreover, the regression analysis has revealed that System Usability Score (β = 0.535, p < 0.001) and professional role are significant predictors of the perceived patient safety. The research concludes that the use of ADDS leads to significant, measurable patient safety and operational efficiency improvements in MOH hospitals, with the success of the system implementation heavily relying on its usability and the use of specific implementation strategies among the staff. The findings can support a solid evidence base of healthcare technology investment and policy in the area and address the significance of human factors in digital transformation.