Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39444067›Full record

ReviewJournal of health services research & policy2025

Collaborative and integrated working between general practice and community pharmacies: A realist review of what works, for whom, and in which contexts.

Emily Owen-Boukra, Ziyue Cai, Claire Duddy, Nina Fudge, Julia Hamer-Hunt, Fran Husson, Kamal R Mahtani, Margaret Ogden, Deborah Swinglehurst, Malcolm Turner and 3 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of health services research & policy, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–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

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Early cancer diagnosis and community pharmacies: a systematic review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. GP workforce sustainability to maximise effective and equitable patient care: a realist review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026
    Review
  4. Article
  5. 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

13 authors.

Emily Owen-BoukraNIHR SPCR Research Fellow, Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-5558-8567
Ziyue CaiNIHR SPCR Intern, Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK.
Claire DuddyPre-Doctoral Fellow, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Nina FudgeTHIS Institute Research Fellow and Lecturer, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Julia Hamer-HuntPPI Co-applicant, Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-3037-4110
Fran HussonPPI Co-applicant, Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK.
Kamal R MahtaniGP and Professor of Evidence Based Healthcare, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
Margaret OgdenPPI Co-applicant, Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK.
Deborah SwinglehurstGP and Professor of Primary Care, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK.
Malcolm TurnerPPI Co-applicant, Department of Primary Care and Population Health, University College London, London, UK.
Cate WhittleseaProfessor of Pharmacy Practice and Director, UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, UK.
Geoff WongGP and Associate Professor of Primary Care, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-5384-4157
Sophie ParkGP and Professor of Primary Care and Clinical Education, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-1521-2052

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesCollaborative and integrated (C + I) working between general practice and community pharmacies has the potential to increase accessibility to services, improve service efficiency and quality of care, and reduce health care expenditures. Many existing studies report challenges and complexities inherent in establishing effective C + I ways of working. The aim of our review is to understand how, when and why working arrangements between General Practitioners (GP) and Community Pharmacists (CP) can provide the conditions necessary for effective communication, decision-making, and C + I working.

methodsWe conducted a realist review to explore the key contextual factors and mechanisms through which GP-CP C + I working may be achieved. MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, HMIC, Web of Science, IBSS, ASSIA, Sociological Abstracts, Sociology Database and the King's Fund Library Database were searched for articles and grey literature published between January 2000 and April 2022.

resultsA total of 136 documents were included in the final synthesis. Our findings highlight the importance of mutually beneficial remuneration models to support effective integration of services; supportive organisational cultures and values; flexible and agile IT systems/technologies; adequate physical infrastructure and space design to support multidisciplinary teamworking; the importance of establishing patient's trust in collaborative processes between GP-CP; and the need to acknowledge, support and utilise effective triadic relationships.

conclusionsOur research generates new insights regarding how, why and in which contexts C + I working can be achieved between GPs and CPs. The findings of our review can be used to inform future policy, research and clinical practice guidelines for designing and delivering C + I care.

Indexed as

Community Pharmacy ServicesCooperative BehaviorDelivery of Health Care, IntegratedGeneral PracticeGeneral PractitionersHumansPharmacistscommunity pharmaciesgeneral practicerealist review

Identifiers

PMID39444067
PMCPMC11877979

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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 OpenQuestion graph.