Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40165101›Full record

SynthesisBMC primary care2025

Perspectives of patients on the role of general practice pharmacists: a systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies.

Abrar H F Hassan, Heather E Barry, Carmel M Hughes

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in BMC primary care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Abrar H F HassanPrimary Care Research Group, School of Pharmacy, Medical Biology Centre, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland, UK.
Heather E BarryPrimary Care Research Group, School of Pharmacy, Medical Biology Centre, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland, UK.
Carmel M HughesPrimary Care Research Group, School of Pharmacy, Medical Biology Centre, Queen's University Belfast, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast, BT9 7BL, Northern Ireland, UK. c.hughes@qub.ac.uk.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThere is a scarcity of research about patients' perspectives on the role of general practice pharmacists (GPPs). In this review, we aimed to compile qualitative evidence of patients' perspectives regarding the role of GPPs.

methodsA systematic, qualitative meta-synthesis was undertaken. A comprehensive search was conducted on six databases. Additionally, the reference lists of included studies were searched. Findings and verbatim quotes were extracted from the included studies and were analysed using thematic synthesis. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist was employed to evaluate the quality of the included studies. The GRADE-CERQual approach was utilised to evaluate confidence in the findings.

resultsTen qualitative studies were included. Four main themes were identified: awareness of the GPP (patients were unaware of the GPP's role), accessibility to the GPP (some patients had difficulties arranging appointments with GPPs), benefits and challenges (medication review conducted by GPPs reaffirmed patients' trust in taking their medicines, although some were dissatisfied with the medication review process), and GPP integration into general practice (successful integration of GPPs was attributed to their skills and teamwork). The included studies satisfied all or at least seven out of the ten criteria of the CASP checklist. GRADE-CERQual indicated high confidence for one theme, and moderate confidence for three themes.

conclusionsThis systematic review and meta-synthesis of qualitative studies provides valuable insights into patients' perspectives on the role of GPPs. The findings highlight both positive aspects and challenges associated with GPP integration into primary care, including concerns about role awareness and accessibility. These findings suggest that while GPPs can add value to general practice teams, there is a need for improved patient education about the GPP role and enhanced accessibility to maximise the potential benefits of the GPPs. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.

Indexed as

General PracticePatient SatisfactionPharmacistsProfessional RoleHumansQualitative ResearchGeneral practice pharmacistsPatientsPrimary careQualitative synthesis

Identifiers

PMID40165101
PMCPMC11956316

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.