Community pharmacy in focus: research insights on improving patient care

Globally, community pharmacists’ role — and that of their teams — continues to evolve beyond the delivery of purely traditional pharmacy services, becoming a key access point for public health and medicines optimisation. This article highlights recent studies published in the International Journal of Pharmacy Practice and abstracts presented at the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS)’s Annual Conference, held on 7 November 2025, which highlight community pharmacy’s growing contribution to antimicrobial stewardship, chronic disease screening, inclusion for neurodiverse patients, medicines safety during care transitions and future prescribing roles. 

Antimicrobial stewardship and referral pathways

An Australian feasibility pilot, results of which were published in 2025, examined pharmacist referrals for minor ailments and suspected antibiotic-requiring infections (S-ARI)^​1​. Across 19 pharmacies and 466 encounters, pharmacists referred 38% of patients (n=173) for medical review, including 17% of patients (n=77) for S-ARI. Of these, 13% of patients (n=62) were referred to a GP, with others directed to emergency departments or other practitioners. The most common reasons for referrals included suspected skin and soft tissue infections and upper respiratory tract infections. The likelihood of referral increased in busy, rural pharmacies, or those co-located with GP practices. The study highlighted the feasibility of exploring referral patterns and suggested that formal minor ailment schemes— successful in the UK and Canada^​2​ and shown to improve appropriateness and symptom resolution in Australian trials^​3​ — could support antimicrobial stewardship nationally.

Screening for chronic kidney disease

A multicentre observational study carried out across 141 community pharmacies in 40 Spanish provinces screened 2,116 patients without a prior chronic kidney disease (CKD) diagnosis using point-of-care creatinine testing and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) calculation^​4​. Results published in October 2025 showed that 67.5% (n=1,428) of those tested were negative, 7.8% were (n=165) positive and 24.7% (n=523) required retesting.

Overall, including after follow-up period, 19.3% (n=408) of patients were confirmed positive for CKD and referred to their GP. CKD detection rates in community pharmacies were comparable to other healthcare settings, reinforcing community pharmacy’s potential role in population screening strategies.

Transfer of care

A qualitative study held in Queensland, Australia, explored community pharmacists’ experiences with hospital-to-community transitions^​5​. Interviews with 13 pharmacists revealed that while they see their role as ensuring medication management and follow-up, barriers faced included poor discharge communication, medication errors on discharge medication records and prescriptions, time constraints and low patient health literacy. Information transfer relied mainly on phone calls and emailed discharge summaries; electronic medical records were not used, although pharmacists supported their future integration. Addressing technical, training and privacy challenges will support improving continuity of care.

For more information on how to reduce risk during transitions of care, see ‘Continuity of care and reducing risk during transitions of care’ from The Pharmaceutical Journal^​6​.

Studies reported at the RPS conference 2025 

Three abstracts accepted for presentation are also worth showcasing. 

Supporting neurodiverse patients

A pilot survey of 94 community pharmacy staff in Swansea Bay, Wales, found that while 88% of pharmacists correctly identified autism as a neurodevelopmental condition, only 24% of all respondents felt confident in supporting autistic patients, while pharmacy assistants reported the lowest knowledge levels^​7​. Only 8.5% had received autism-specific training, with only 2% of pharmacists reporting that they had completed it. Awareness of national policy frameworks was limited: 89% were unfamiliar with the Oliver McGowan Code and 96% were unaware of RPS-recommended neurodivergence training; while 84% supported mandatory training.

These findings highlight gaps in neurodiversity competence across community pharmacy roles and suggest embedding structured, co-designed autism training into onboarding, annual continuing professional development (CPD) or workplace quality assurance frameworks to standardise inclusive care. 

Improving medicines safety and disposal

Two UK studies focused on medication disposal.

First, a systematic review of 37 studies from 18 countries revealed persistent barriers: 46% of studies reported inadequate professional education, 65% highlighted missing or unclear policies, and 29% noted poor access to take-back services^​8​. Communication was inconsistent, with 14% of studies showing limited disposal advice and 11% minimal patient engagement. Some professionals (9%) even refused returns. Promising evidence from two intervention studies showed improved practices after targeted education. The review called for national guidelines, accessible disposal infrastructure, mandatory counselling at dispensing, and integration of disposal education into curricula and CPD to standardise sustainable practice.

A qualitative interview study in Cardiff and Vale, Wales, with 20 adult members of the public highlighted that most participants disposed of medicines via household waste, citing convenience and lack of awareness of alternatives^​9​. While many acknowledged financial, environmental and societal benefits to a reuse scheme, safety concerns — such as tampering and quality — were common, while some linked waste to overprescribing and free prescriptions.

Overall, participants were positive about the concept of reusing unopened packs but wanted transparency if such a scheme were implemented. Findings suggested public acceptance is possible but contingent on clear communication and robust safety measures. This is timely research given the House of Lords inquiry into medicines security considering the reuse of medication in times of shortage. 

A research blog published in The Pharmaceutical Journal in September 2025 included an interview with the authors of another systematic review designed to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice of the public regarding household pharmaceutical waste disposal^​10​. 

Protocol of the evaluation study of Pharmacy First service 

The protocol for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR)-funded evaluation study of the implementation of the Pharmacy First service and its impact on the volume of prescribing, case mix of GP consultations, accident and emergency department and other hospital use, equity of access, and cost for different groups of patients in different contexts — as well as its acceptability and fidelity — was published in April 2025^​11​. The 36-month, mixed methods evaluation will include five elements, namely evidence synthesis, semi-structured interviews, focus groups, quantitative analysis of impacts before and after implementation (e.g. using interrupted time series analysis) using routine data, and an economic evaluation. 

Future prescribing roles

Finally, it is worth highlighting a qualitative study that explored the perspectives of stakeholders on the General Pharmaceutical Council’s revised ‘Standards for the initial education and training of pharmacists’, which enable pharmacists to prescribe at the point of registration from 2026^​12​. Of the 43 participants, comprising a mixture of patients, community, hospital and primary care pharmacists, GPs and nurses, there were 8 community pharmacists involved.

Cited barriers for community pharmacy included perceived lack of support and commercial pressures, logistical barriers including lack of space, equipment and IT issues. The study also highlighted that pilots were underway to redesign current pathways and enable community pharmacist prescribing in primary care, which will hopefully lead to greater utilisation of newly qualified pharmacist prescribers. These themes are explored in the national evaluation of independent prescribing pathfinder sites^​13​. 

As community pharmacy continues to expand its clinical and public health roles, these studies demonstrate the value of evidence-based innovation. In the UK, with expanding research focus through Community Pharmacy England and Community Pharmacy Scotland, there is an opportunity to increase participation in research into everyday practice and shape future policy. At the same time, as a profession, we must work to better understand and showcase the level of research already taking place in and through community pharmacy. Much of this work remains hidden — often sitting within organisation folders or arising from projects led by pharmacy students and foundation trainees, which are never disseminated or are only presented at conferences.

Greater visibility would not only recognise and celebrate this progress, but also stimulate collaboration, attract funding and support the development of services that better meet patient needs. Crucially, it would also help influence policy, ultimately improving health and patient outcomes.