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| Themes | Subthemes | Patterns | Example of a representative quotation |
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| Provision of collaborative, direct, and comprehensive patient care services | Best possible therapy history | Taking history | “…pharmacists are supposed to see the patients at the time of admission and talk with them about the medications and other therapies they have used. This might help us decide what we can try later and it might give us an idea if that is going to work or not” |
| Care plans | Developing care plans | “…treatment plans should not be decided by physicians alone. Pharmacists should assume more active role and share their recommendations with regard to the medication, dose, and for how long it should be used” |
| Implementing and monitoring care plans | “…the role of pharmacists should not stop here. The pharmacists should follow up with the treatment plan and make recommendations. Lab tests and results are often available and handy to take decisions. They should be used” |
| Response to therapy | Documenting assessments of response to therapeutic plan | “…if it was not written it was not done! I think pharmacists should assess and document what they have assessed. This can facilitate decision making” |
| Titration of doses to produce desirable therapeutic effect | “…in case we are not using the right therapy or the right doses, this has to be changed accordingly until we arrive at the desired outcomes whenever possible” |
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| Common services and activities at the time of admission, during stay, at transition between wards/services/hospitals, and at discharge to home or community care | Review and reconciliation | Review | “…pharmacists should perform periodic medication reviews. We need to make sure that patients are making the best of their medications” |
| Reconciliation | “…pharmacists are good at performing medication reconciliation services. We need to know that the patients know their medications and are using them as planned” |
| Counselling and educating patients | | “Pharmacists should counsel the patients on their medications. Counselling has proven effective in increasing adherence and coping with side effects” |
| Screening for, identifying, and resolving problems | Interactions | Medications | “…pharmacists should ensure that the medications used do not interact with each other” |
| CAM | “…like medications, CAM oftentimes might interact with other CAM or medications” |
| Food | “…pharmacists often inform patients what foods to take or avoid when taking medications. This is part of their patient instructions” |
| Inappropriate use | Inappropriate dose | “…the patient could be underdosed or overdosed. The pharmacist should also assess if the dose is suitable for the patient’s renal function. We need to make sure that the medication is being eliminated and does not accumulate to toxic levels in the body of the patient” |
| Duplication | “…for the same condition, the prescriber could opt for many options. Therefore, duplication is very common. I think the pharmacist should be vigilant and apply the necessary measures” |
| Ineffectiveness | “…therapeutic options are not always effective. Pharmacists should monitor if the patient is responding to the therapy used or not” |
| Contraindications | “…therapies should be assessed for suitability of use in certain patients. In case the medication was contraindicated, the pharmacist should make recommendation for a better option” |
| Allergies | “…in case of allergy to medications, the pharmacist should be prepared to be asked for an alternative. There are many alternatives that pharmacists could suggest” |
| Adverse reactions | | “…as the therapy has many benefits to the patients, they can also be associated with unwanted effect. Although patients are encouraged to cope with the side effects of the therapy, however, it is not always wise to ignore them, especially when they become severe or when better alternatives are handy” |
| Problematic orders | Ambiguous order | “…therapeutic orders could be ambiguous and unclear. Pharmacists should talk to the prescribers and clarify them before any action can be taken” |
| Illegibly written order | “…when orders are handwritten, writing can be very important. Illegibly written orders can be a source of errors” |
| Misspelled order | “…when a prescriber misspells the medication name, this can be confused with another medication. There are many sound-alike and look-alike medications” |
| Missing order | “…missing orders are common. I have received many orders in which the prescriber did not indicate the dose. I was confused because the medication was available in multiple strengths” |
| Collaboration with other healthcare providers | Meetings | Attending interprofessional meetings | “…meetings can be numerous and time consuming. However, pharmacists should spare some time and attend them” |
| Taking part in professional discussions | “…decision making is a shared responsibility now. No professional group should dominate the discussion. We are all partners now” |
| Making suggestions to other healthcare providers | “…pharmacists suggestions are more encouraged and attended from other healthcare professionals now” |
| Inquiries | Answering formal inquiries | “…it takes a lot of efforts to formally answering questions and inquiries of other healthcare professionals in the team” |
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| Professional development | | Attending continuing educational/training | “Pharmacists should attend periodic continuing education and training. In many countries, this has been set as a requirement for relicensure” |
| | Providing continuing educational/training | “…pharmacists are good educators. They always educate patients. They can also educate each other junior pharmacists as well as other healthcare professionals” |
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| Performance and efficiency | | Errors committed | “…there is no system that is absolutely error-free. Needless to say that committing more errors can be detrimental to the professional reputation and proficiency” |
| | Complaints received | “…listening to the opinions of the consumers is very important. Today, decision makers take consumer complaints seriously. In case of any complaint, corrective actions should be initiated immediately. I believe the same complaints should not be received again” |
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