A scoping review of clinical pharmacist and pharmacy technician contributions to cystic fibrosis care

Abstract

The purpose of this scoping literature review was to assess available published literature/abstracts, and to examine described contributions by pharmacists and/or pharmacy technicians as part of the care of people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF). This scoping review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Published abstracts and articles from inception through December 2022 were included if they described care of pwCF (all ages), with at least one group of participants receiving care/services from pharmacy staff, and were available in English. Data extractions were outcomes, study, and participant characteristics. From 756 abstracts and papers, 91 were included. The majority were published abstracts (n = 67), from the United States (n = 64), retrospective cohort study design (n = 47), involved pharmacist intervention (n = 75), with no comparison group (n = 48), and in an outpatient/ambulatory setting (n = 59). Most often, literature were descriptions of specific pharmacist services, evaluations of adding a pharmacist, or descriptions of overall pharmacist practice/role. Specific pharmacist services were defined as patient or caregiver education, adherence support, medication reconciliation, management of pulmonary exacerbations, and medication management (including monitoring, and telehealth). Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have contributed to the care of pwCF in various ways; however, much of the available data are currently disseminated in the form of conference abstracts. Efforts to support author publication of data as full peer-reviewed publications should be prioritized as this data can help support others’ efforts to develop or support similar clinical pharmacy services.