Costs and consequences of services provided by non-medical prescribers: a scoping review protocol

Abstract

Non-medical prescribing (NMP) is deemed to facilitate better patient care and timely access to medicine. This scoping review protocol is designed to explore and synthesise the evidence on costs and consequences of NMP services provided by non-medical healthcare professionals. This protocol is prepared based on the framework recommended by Arksey and O'Malley and further refined by Levac et al and the Joanna Briggs Institute. MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, Science Direct, Scopus, PubMed, ISI Web of Science and Google Scholar will be systematically searched. The search strategy will include both peer-reviewed and grey literature written in English from 1999 to 2021. The identified studies will be screened independently by two reviewers for final inclusion. The results will be reported in graphical form and descriptively. The findings of this scoping review will provide valuable insights for researchers and policy-makers to inform policy and practice around NMP.