{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,5]],"date-time":"2026-02-05T21:08:10Z","timestamp":1770325690620,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":25,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,2]],"date-time":"2026-02-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769990400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pharmacy"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background and objectives: Research into clinicians\u2019 and pharmacists\u2019 experiences and perspectives on direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) use in Saudi Arabia and the broader Middle Eastern area is limited. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate the perspectives and experiences of physicians and pharmacists practicing in Saudi Arabia who prescribe DOACs and dispense DOAC therapy, respectively. Methods: A cross-sectional study was undertaken utilizing an online survey instrument. We collected data via Google Forms. Between June and July 2024, the study questionnaire was distributed to community pharmacists, general practitioners [GPs], cardiologists, residents in internal medicine, and hospital pharmacists (primary and secondary healthcare professionals) working in Saudi Arabia. Results: Comprising 146 doctors and 167 pharmacists, 313 total healthcare professionals participated in the study. Of the weekly DOAC prescriptions, cardiologists had the most at 35%; internal medicine residents came next at 16.3% and general practitioners at 17.5%. Among pharmacists, 16.7% of community pharmacists and 23.9% of hospital pharmacists dispensed DOACs weekly. The most often prescribed and dispensed medications were rivaroxaban, edoxaban, and apixaban. Across all categories, Lexicomp was the most often used tool. Most physicians (98%) said they lowered the DOAC dose when necessary. Especially in dosing, preoperative care, patient education, and medication interaction identification, internal medicine residents and hospital pharmacists expressed more confidence in managing DOACs. In these domains, community pharmacists expressed less trust. Conclusions: This study revealed that most participants preferred newer oral anticoagulants over warfarin and demonstrated a fairly good level of self-perceived knowledge regarding various aspects of the clinical use of DOACs. The study findings highlight the importance of focused training initiatives to standardize the use of DOACs, boost trust among community pharmacists and GPs, and ensure safe and effective patient care.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pharmacy14010021","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,2]],"date-time":"2026-02-02T12:00:47Z","timestamp":1770033647000},"page":"21","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Perspectives and Experiences of Doctors and Pharmacists on the Clinical Use of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in Saudi Arabia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3279-248X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dalal Salem","family":"Aldossari","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Komal","family":"Latif","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, 70210 Kuopio, Finland"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Amjad Nasser","family":"Alsadoni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Orjuwan Hasan","family":"Alshehri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rakan Ibrahim","family":"Binjathlan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Monirah Mutlaq","family":"Alenezy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Taif Farhan","family":"Alshahrani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Hana Ahmed","family":"Lubbad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rana Saeed","family":"Alshamasi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Abdulmajead Khaled","family":"Alanazi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Raed Ghazi","family":"Alotaibi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Pharmaceutical Care Services, King Saud Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh 12372, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Ghazi Ibrahim","family":"Arishi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Samta General Hospital, Jazan Health Cluster, Ministry of Health, Samtah 86735, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sheraz","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare, Bond University, Robina, QLD 4226, Australia"},{"name":"School of Dentistry and Medical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Health, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW 2800, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1139","DOI":"10.1056\/NEJMoa0905561","article-title":"Dabigatran versus Warfarin in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation","volume":"361","author":"Connolly","year":"2009","journal-title":"N. 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