Quality Indicators for Drug Dispensing in Community Pharmacies: A Scoping Review Protocol.

Abstract

<h4>Introduction</h4>Assessing health service quality, particularly through indicators, is essential for improvement and accountability. However, the literature lacks a comprehensive analysis of how drug dispensing quality is measured.<h4>Objective</h4>This scoping review protocol aims to identify the validated indicators used to assess the quality of drug dispensing in community pharmacies.<h4>Methods</h4>A scoping review will follow the JBI Reviewer's Manual and PRISMA-ScR guidelines. An electronic search will be conducted in MEDLINE (PubMed), Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and LILACS, using search terms related to "quality indicators, health care", "dispensing" and "community pharmacies", along with their synonyms. Study selection and data extraction will be performed independently by two reviewers, disagreements will be resolved by a third. Findings will be synthesized narratively.<h4>Conclusion</h4>This study will identify and critically analyze quality indicators for drug dispensing in community pharmacies, bridging fragmented practices with evidence-based standards to guide safer, more effective pharmaceutical care.