Pharmacists have made progress in implementing SP, which is perceived by pharmacist prescribers as beneficial for both patients and themselves. Pharmacists need more support in terms of infrastructure and integration into the healthcare team to overcome some of the barriers to implementing SP.

Most patient respondents were satisfied with, and had a positive attitude towards, pharmacist prescribing consultations. However, most patients would still elect to see a doctor given the choice.

There is a section of pharmacists still not participating in CPD. Primary care pharmacists reported most motivation and scored highest in attitude score. Community pharmacists appear to be the sector requiring most support to increase not only their motivation to CPD but also their confidence and ability in participation.

The systematic review has identified a limited literature on medication wastage with a lack of consistency of terms. There is a paucity of robust research focusing on the impact of healthcare interventions on outcomes around medication wastage.

Pharmacists, doctors and patients were all supportive of developments in pharmacist supplementary prescribing, although doctors raised concerns around independent prescribing by pharmacists. The ability of pharmacists to demonstrate competence, to be aware of levels of competence and to identify learning needs requires further exploration.