A scoping review about the pharmacist role in the Pre-Operative Assessment Clinic (POAC) in the UK: English

Background:
Mapping the existing literature reporting pharmacist roles in POAC, determining pharmacist roles in POAC in current practice, collecting data on the impact of pre-operative pharmacist roles in POAC, gaining consensus on pre-operative pharmacists’ roles and making recommendations for future research and practice.
Methods:
A comprehensive search was conducted using EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar. Studies included were from 2002 to 2025, in English, in the UK, with full-text available to observe all practised pre-operative pharmacist roles. The reporting for this review followed the Arksey and O’Malley framework, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR). The characteristics of the included studies and data were analysed using thematic analysis, and key themes were identified.
Results:
241 records were identified from database searches. Following title and abstract screening, full-text screening, and duplicate removal, seven (n=7) records met the eligibility criteria and were included in this review. Our findings showed that pre-operative pharmacists’ roles in medicine optimisation and reconciliation, medication history documentation and counselling reduced hospital stays and post-operative complications and improved adherence and pain control. Pharmacists’ integration into the POAC team prevented medication errors, enhanced patient satisfaction and health promotion, and reduced the workload, re-admissions, unnecessary General Practitioner visits, and surgery delays/cancellations.
Discussion:
International literature findings aligned with our study results. However, this review considered studies conducted in the UK for adults, limiting the generalisability of results worldwide and possibly lacking other roles for different populations. Studies did not discuss barriers to providing pre-operative pharmaceutical services, which could have affected the findings. In conclusion, pre-operative pharmacists enhanced post-surgical recovery. Further research is required to identify barriers to pre-operative care. Training programs and practice frameworks for surgical pharmacy are crucial for improving competency and collecting data for future research.
Other:
Key words: pharmacist, pre-operative clinic, surgical pharmacy, surgery, UK.