The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Evidence suggests that pharmacists integrated into primary care can improve patient outcomes and satisfaction, but their impact on healthcare systems is unclear. ⋯ Integrating pharmacists into primary care may reduce GP workload and ED attendance. However, further higher quality studies are needed, including research to clarify the cost-effectiveness of the intervention and the long-term impact on health system outcomes.
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Care navigation is an avenue to link patients to activities or organisations that can help address non-medical needs affecting health and wellbeing. An understanding of how care navigation is being implemented across primary care is lacking. ⋯ There is a policy steer to engaging patients in social prescribing, using some form of care navigator to help with this. Results from this study highlight that, although this type of role is being provided, its implementation is heterogeneous. This could make comparison and the pooling of data on care navigation difficult. It may also leave patients unsure about what care navigation is about and how it could help them.
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Observational Study
How widespread is working at scale in English general practice? An observational study.
Over the last 5 years, national policy has encouraged general practices to serve populations of >30 000 people (called 'working at scale') by collaborating with other practices. ⋯ In early 2018, approximately 5% of general practices were working closely at scale; approximately half of practices were working more loosely at scale. However, data were incomplete. Better records of what is happening at practice level should be collected so that the effect of working at scale on patient care can be evaluated.