Medication Safety Practice in Selected Saudi Hospitals: Alignment with the World Health Organization Global...

Background: In response to the World Health Organization's Global Medication Safety Challenge, many countries, including Saudi Arabia, have launched implementation initiatives. This study examined how Saudi hospitals have addressed the WHO Global Medication Safety Challenge. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted between January and June 2025 among medication safety officers at secondary and tertiary care hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Participants reported interventions implemented to enhance medication safety during or before 2025 using a self-administered survey adapted from a previously published tool. Interventions were categorized according to the domains, subdomains, and priority areas of the WHO Medication Safety Challenge framework. Descriptive statistics summarized responses, and thematic analysis was used to categorize interventions. Results: Twenty-eight hospitals reported 162 interventions. Most respondents were medication safety officers (75%). The most frequently reported domains were medication systems and practices (41.3%), followed by healthcare professionals (29%), medicines (22.5%), and patients/public (6.7%). Nearly 60% of interventions addressed WHO priority areas, primarily high-risk situations (81.4%), followed by transitions of care (11.3%) and polypharmacy (7.2%). Conclusions: The study findings suggest that selected hospitals in Saudi Arabia have primarily focused on medication systems, healthcare professionals, and high-risk situations. Expanding initiatives to address polypharmacy and patient/public engagement may further strengthen medication safety efforts.