Table 3.

Data extraction of seven systematic reviews.

Authors	Aims/ objective(s)	Country	NMP	Databases searched and search terms used	Number of articles	Findings
Van Ruth et al.14	Aimed to review the effects of medication being prescribed by nurses The following research questions were addressed: what are the effects of nurse prescribing compared with physician prescribing, on the quantity and types of medication being prescribed? What are the effects of nurse prescribing on patient outcomes? What are the effects of nurse prescribing on physician and nurse outcomes? What are the effects of nurse prescribing on characteristics of the health care system?	Review of all studies, irrespective of country	Nurse prescribing	Pubmed, Embase, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Picarta, SCI, Invert, Biomed central, Virginia Henderson Library, Current Control Trials, NIVEL catalog, UK Department of Health, World Health Organization, Nurse Prescriber website, Google For PubMed, the following search terms were used: (‘Nurse prescribing’) OR (Nurs* [tiab] AND Prescri* [tiab]) OR (Nurs* AND prescriptions, drug [MeSH])	23	Nurses sometimes differed from physicians in the number of patients they prescribe for and in the choice or type of medication Clinical parameters were the same or better for treatment by nurses compared with physicians across a range of conditions (diabetes and ‘various’) Perceived quality of care by nurses was similar or better The effects on professionals or on the health care system could not be described
Kroezen et al.12	Aimed to gain insight into the scientific and professional literature describing the extent to and the ways in which nurse prescribing has been realized or is being introduced in Western European and Anglo-Saxon countries Secondly, to identify possible mechanisms underlying the introduction and organization of nurse prescribing on the basis of Abbott’s theory on the division of professional labour	Western European and Anglo-Saxon countries	Nurse prescribing	PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, EBSCO, NIVEL, Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library, World Health Organization website, Health professionals’ website, Google scholar. The following keywords were used: ‘nurse prescribing’, ‘independent (nurse) prescribing’, ‘autonomous prescribing’, ‘supplementary (nurse) prescribing’, ‘dependent (nurse) prescribing’, ‘collaborative prescribing’, ‘group protocols’, ‘patient group directions’, ‘time and dose prescribing’, ‘nurse formulary’	124	Seven countries had implemented nurse prescribing of medicines The Netherlands and Spain were in the process of introducing nurse prescribing A diversity of external and internal forces had led to the introduction of nurse prescribing internationally The legal, educational and organizational conditions under which nurses prescribe medicines varied considerably between countries; from situations where nurses prescribed independently to situations in which prescribing by nurses was only allowed under strict conditions and supervision of physicians
Darvishpour et al.16	Aimed to obtain new insights on nurse prescribing drugs, and to present a schematic model of nurse prescribing that could be a useful framework for its implementation The following research questions were addressed: what is the overall view on nurse prescribing? What are the positive and negative outcomes of nurse prescribing?What are the barriers and facilitators for its implementation?	Review of all studies, irrespective of country	Nurse prescribing	Integrated Digital National Library of Medicine, CINAHL, Medline, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of science, Elsevier, Emelard, JAMA journals, Wiley, Oxford journals, Springer and Thieme journals, World Health Organization website, Nurse prescriber website, Google scholar, Cambridge journals website The following were used: review AND nurs* prescri*	11	Studies revealed eight themes, namely: leading countries in prescribing, views, features, infrastructures, benefits, disadvantages, facilitators and barriers of nursing prescribing Despite the positive view on nurse prescribing, there were still issues such as legal, administrative, weak research and educational deficiencies in academic preparation of nurses
Gielen et al.15	Aimed to identify, appraise and synthesize the evidence presented in the literature on the effectiveness of nurse prescribing compared with physician prescribing The following research questions were addressed: what are the effects of nurse prescribing on the quantity and types of medication being prescribed? What are the effects of nurse prescribing on patient outcomes?	Review of all studies, irrespective of country	Nurse prescribing	BioMed Central, CINAHL, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Current Controlled Trials, Embase, INVERT (Dutch nursing literature index), NIVEL catalogue, PiCarta (Dutch library system), PubMed, Science Citation Index and the Virginia Henderson International Nursing Library, and the website of the UK Department of Health, the website of the World Health Organization, a website for health professionals and Google Scholar For Pubmed: (‘Nurse prescribing’) OR (Nurs* [tiab] AND Prescri* [tiab]) OR (Nurs* AND prescriptions, drug [MeSH])	35	Nurses prescribed in comparable ways with physicians They prescribed for equal numbers of patients and prescribe comparable types and doses of medicines Studies comparing the total amount of medication prescribed by nurses and doctors show mixed results. There appeared to be few differences between nurses and physicians in patient health outcomes: clinical parameters were the same or better for treatment by nurses, perceived quality of care was similar or better and patients treated by nurses were just as satisfied or more satisfied
McIntosh et al.17	To critically appraise, synthesize and present evidence on the influences on prescribing decision making among supplementary and independent nonmedical prescribers in the UK	UK	All nonmedical prescribers	Medline, PsycARTICLES, CINAHL, International Pharmaceutical Abstracts, Education Resources Information Centre, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, reference lists The following search terms were used: prescrib* and (pharmacist* or nurse* or physiotherapist* or podiatrist* or radiographer* or optometrist*) and (influenc* or decision* or decid* or judge* or factor*)	3	While all studies reported aspects of prescribing decision making, this was not the primary research aim for any. Studies were carried out in primary care almost exclusively among nurse prescribers (n = 67). Complex influences were evident, such as experience in the role, the use of evidence-based guidelines and peer support and encouragement from doctors; these helped participants to feel more knowledgeable and confident about their prescribing decisions. Opposing influences included prioritization of experience and concern about complications over evidence base, and peer conflict
Ness et al.13	To present the findings of a systematic review that explored the influences on the antimicrobial prescribing behaviour of independent nurse prescribers	Review of all studies, irrespective of country	Independent nurse prescribing	Medline, CINAHL, AMED, HealthSource Nursing/Academic Edition, Proquest Health, Internurse, Cochrane Database, Web of Knowledge, Index to Thesis, ETHOS, reference lists Search terms included: Prescri* AND Antibiotic OR antimicrobial OR antibacterial AND Nurs*	7	Three articles expected that an antimicrobial would be given and therefore influences discussed were on the choice of the antimicrobial. Guidelines/protocols, safety, tolerability and efficacy of the antimicrobial itself, patient/parent pressure and training/experience were mentioned as influencing factors within the reported studies The other four studies explored influences on whether to prescribe. An antimicrobial or not and also found that guidelines/protocols were an influencing factor; however, the influence occurring most frequently was diagnostic uncertainty.
Weeks et al.18	To assess clinical, patient-reported, and resource-use outcomes of NMP for managing acute and chronic health conditions in primary and secondary care settings compared with medical prescribing (usual care)	Review of all studies, irrespective of country	Healthcare providers who were not medical doctors, undertaking prescribing including, nurses, optometrist, pharmacists, physician assistants, and other allied health professionals or categories not specifically mentioned whose roles met the definition of nonmedical prescribing	Cochrane Database, DARE, HTA, Medline, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, grey literature, trial registries	46	A meta-analysis of surrogate markers of chronic disease (systolic blood pressure, glycated haemoglobin, and low-density lipoprotein) showed positive-intervention group effects. While there appeared little difference in medication adherence across studies, a meta-analysis of continuous outcome data from four studies showed an effect favouring patient adherence in the NMP group. Patients were generally satisfied with nonmedical prescriber care.

CMP, clinical management plan; NMP, nonmedical prescribing.