Advanced pharmacy service provision in community pharmacy across the United Kingdom and Ireland: A Scoping review.

BACKGROUND

The scope of practice for community pharmacists across the United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland is expanding, with advanced pharmacy services (APS) that exceed the traditional scope of practice of a community pharmacist being provided. Current literature highlights that there is variation in APS provision and renumeration for those service across the UK and Ireland.

AIM

This scoping review aims to describe and compare the APS provided by community pharmacists across the UK and Ireland for which community pharmacists receive government reimbursement and explore stakeholder perspectives of these services.

METHOD

This scoping review was reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews Checklist and followed Arskey and O'Malley's guidance for undertaking scoping reviews. Systematic searches of the electronic databases Embase, PubMed, SCOPUS and Google Scholar were undertaken using search terms such as 'community pharmacist' and 'advanced service', from January 2010 to August 2022. Articles were included if they reported an APS, renumeration for an APS and/or stakeholders' views of APS. Results were summarised narratively.

RESULTS

After screening 4009 records, 75 publications were included. More Government renumerated APS were provided across the UK [Wales (n = 14); England (n = 10); Scotland (n = 8); Northern Ireland (n = 4)] than in Ireland (n = 4). Stakeholders (patients, pharmacists and general practitioners) found the provision of APS in community pharmacy ideal especially when tailored to local demographic needs, noting accessibility and economic benefits as key advantages.

CONCLUSION

Despite similarities in the traditional services provided by community pharmacists, there is diversion in the provision and availability of APS across the UK and Ireland. Further APS could be provided in some countries which can reflect local population needs.