OBJECTIVES

Point-of-care tests (POCT) are an innovative service that is becoming increasingly offered in community pharmacies. The assessment of the financial sustainability of these services should be in tandem with the analysis of their effectiveness, which is not always performed. In principle, pharmacy services are provided within an internal and external competitive environment and constitute new lines of businesses in a community pharmacy. The aim was to review and evaluate the POCT practice innovations literature through the lens of the resource-based theory of competitive advantage (RBT).

METHODS

DATA SOURCES

This systematic literature review was undertaken in PubMed, exclusively.

STUDY SELECTION

Articles included in this review were analyzed against the following exclusion criteria: 1) articles published before 2000; 2) interventions that were not pharmacist-led innovations within the context of a community pharmacy; 3) prospective studies without results; 4) review articles; and 5) articles that were not accessible.

DATA EXTRACTION

A SWOT matrix (SWOTM) and the business model canvas (BMC) were used to extract data. Included articles were scored according to the components of the SWOTM and BMC from 0 (not reported) to 2 (data clearly articulated).

RESULTS

21 articles describing POCT services were included in this review. In general, the articles reviewed do not consider the competitive environment (opportunities and threats). Moreover, the results show that aspects such as customer segments and profit model (revenues and cost structure) are widely and consistently disregarded. Nevertheless, components like the value proposition and innovation partners are clearly articulated.

CONCLUSIONS

Pharmacist-led innovations could benefit from considering a strategic management perspective and using tried-and-tested tools to design practice innovations. In addition, the authors propose reporting guidelines, that broadly cover the dimensions of the RBT that warrant the financial sustainability and relevance of these services for the pharmacy business and profession, which can be used in future innovations.