Pharmaceutical Care in Primary Health Centers: A Systematic Literature Review on Prescription Services and Patient Counseling

Abstract

This study aims to systematically review the implementation of prescription services and pharmaceutical counseling within primary health centers and to identify key challenges, outcomes, and improvement strategies reported in recent literature. A systematic literature review was conducted using peer-reviewed articles published between 2017 and 2024, sourced from international Scopus-indexed journals and nationally accredited journals. A total of 20 studies met the inclusion criteria, consisting of cross-sectional, observational, qualitative, mixed-methods, and quasi-experimental designs. The findings indicate that administrative and pharmaceutical screening of prescriptions is generally implemented adequately, while clinical prescription review and patient counseling remain inconsistent and underdeveloped. Pharmacist-led interventions, including medication review and structured counseling, were consistently associated with improved patient knowledge, medication adherence, reduced drug-related problems, and increased patient satisfaction. However, barriers such as limited human resources, high workload, insufficient infrastructure, and lack of standardized counseling guidelines constrain optimal service delivery