Advanced pharmaceutical services in community pharmacies /

Abstract

Background: Community pharmacists are often the most accessible healthcare professionals, and community pharmacies provide opportunities for patient counselling, chronic disease management, support with non‑pharmaceutical interventions, safe medication use recommendations, and prevention of drug‑related problems.

Objective: This review summarises the different types of advanced pharmaceutical care interventions that pharmacists provide in community pharmacy settings, evaluates their feasibility and benefits for both patients and public health, and assesses their impact on the evolution of pharmaceutical practice within community pharmacies.

Methods: A literature search was conducted using PubMed to identify studies on pharmaceutical services delivered in community pharmacies, while excluding hospital and clinical pharmacy interventions.

Results: The review highlights a range of pharmaceutical services tailored to various patient groups and disease types. The earliest documented advanced services focused on interventions for cardiovascular diseases and asthma, which remain well‑studied with clear positive health outcomes. Research on other services exists but is less extensive and often depends on intervention duration and collaboration with physicians.

Conclusions: Advanced pharmaceutical services represent a shift beyond traditional dispensing roles, emphasising interventions based on patient‑specific needs. However, the wide variety of services and inconsistent research findings make it difficult to derive universal practice recommendations. Services addressing cardiovascular conditions are among the most promising candidates for internationally standardised community pharmacy interventions.