Global Scope of Hospital Pharmacy Practice: A Scoping Review

Abstract

The pharmacy profession has undergone tremendous changes over the past few decades. Pharmacists’ roles have expanded their boundaries to encompass more patient-centered services. However, the degree to which these roles are practised may vary. This scoping review is aimed at describing the extent and range of the professional pharmacy services offered in hospital pharmacies across different countries and the barriers underlying inappropriate or incomplete implementation of these services. Studies published in the English language between 2015 and 2019 were retrieved from the following databases: PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, EBSCO Discovery Service, and Web of Science. A thematic analysis across the included studies produced two main themes. “Scope of practice” comprised three subthemes: pharmaceutical care practice, clinical pharmacy practice, and public health services and “Multiple levels of influence” comprised five subthemes: individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and public policy-related factors. The hospital pharmacy services across countries ranged from traditional drug-centered pharmacy practice to a more progressive, clinically oriented practice. In some countries, there is an apparent inadequacy in the clinical pharmacy services provided compared to other clinical settings. Understanding the current pharmacy practice culture across different health care systems is an essential step towards improving the profession.

Burnout and resilience among pharmacists: A Singapore study

“…Additionally, the inclusion of impact measurements in our survey enabled exploration of possible negative consequences of burnout. In light of the varied pharmacy practices globally, 25 and by extension the possible heterogeneity among potential contributors to burnout, 16,20 this current research attempted to identify actionable factors for future design of effective strategies to mitigate this trend.…”

“…17,23,24 However, there remains a dearth of such evidence within the Asia-Pacific region, where clinical pharmacy practice is varied versus other regions. 25 Given the crucial role pharmacists play within the healthcare system, a deeper understanding of this issue is crucial for effective mitigation strategies. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of burnout, its impact, and possible risk factors among patient care pharmacists across a broad range of settings in Singapore.…”

Validation of a Questionnaire for Patient Awareness and the Need for a Community-Based Outpatient Antimicrobial Stewardship Program (O-ASP): A Pilot Study

“…According to a previous study by Bishop and colleagues, these antibiotic stewardship interventions led by community pharmacists could be performed via the following strategies: collaborative practice agreements (CPA), point-of-care (POC) testing, patient counseling, academic detailing, and advocacy for patients and other healthcare practitioners [ 25 ]. However, ASP activities of community pharmacists may vary greatly in different countries due to substantial differences in the legal scope of practice, available resources, healthcare delivery system, and patient expectations [ 26 , 27 ]. Based on our pilot survey responses, Korean patients expected and needed active pharmacist involvement in infectious disease management to improve overall treatment outcomes ( Table 4 ).…”

Pharmacy practice in hospital settings in GCC countries: Prescribing and transcribing

“…The pharmacy profession witnessed evolutionary changes over the past three decades ( Abousheishaa et al, 2020 ). The pharmacist's role has shifted significantly from a primarily dispensing function to more direct patient care through providing comprehensive medication management to patients ( Mansur, 2016 ).…”

“…The pharmacist's role has shifted significantly from a primarily dispensing function to more direct patient care through providing comprehensive medication management to patients ( Mansur, 2016 ). Furthermore, the hospital pharmacy services across countries ranged from traditional drug-centered pharmacy practice to a more progressive, clinically-oriented practice ( Abousheishaa et al, 2020 ). There are six components of the medication use system: prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, administration, monitoring, and patient education.…”