This post translates a new scoping review into actionable qualitative research steps for teams studying veterinarian–pharmacist collaboration. According to the PLOS One scoping review by Kambayashi et al., published 31 July 2026, pharmacists most often support animal care through compounding and drug information but the evidence base is small and regionally variable. Evidano is an AI-powered qualitative data analysis platform that helps researchers analyze interviews, open-ended surveys, and documents. This article shows how qualitative researchers and UX or clinical teams can extract themes, frequencies, and cross-segment patterns from interviews and surveys about interprofessional collaboration, using the PLOS One review as a worked example.
Key Takeaways
According to the PLOS One scoping review "Veterinarian–pharmacist collaboration in veterinary medicine: Roles, practices, and perceptions; A scoping review" (Kambayashi et al., PLOS One, published 31 July 2026), pharmacist contributions in veterinary settings are concentrated in compounding and drug information roles, but the literature is limited to 16 studies spanning 2007–2024.
- 239 records were screened and 16 studies were included after full-text review, search completed 30 August 2025, according to Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 31 July 2026).
- Compounding and dispensing were reported in 10 of 16 studies (62.5%), and drug information/consultation in 6 of 16 studies (37.5%), as reported by Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 2026).
- Geographic distribution in the review showed the United States contributed 7 studies, New Zealand 3, and Japan 3, highlighting regional variation in practice models (Kambayashi et al., PLOS One, 31 July 2026).
- Kambayashi et al. concluded: "Pharmacists are expanding their participation in veterinary healthcare teams, " and also that "veterinarian–pharmacist collaboration is described within a limited and regionally variable evidence base."
What happened and how the review measured collaboration
Answer: Kambayashi et al. conducted a scoping review to map roles, practices, and perceptions of veterinarian–pharmacist collaboration using searches through 30 August 2025 and published results 31 July 2026 in PLOS One.
According to Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 2026), two reviewers searched PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Ichushi-Web, and Google Scholar and screened 239 records, retaining 16 studies published between 2007 and 2024.
According to Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 2026), most included studies used cross-sectional surveys and settings included veterinary hospitals (12 studies), community pharmacies (4 studies), and zoos (3 studies).
Findings snapshot
| Date (as reported) | Metric | Value | Implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 August 2025 | Records retrieved in search | 239 | Large initial pool but narrow final evidence (screening and exclusion reduced to 16 studies) |
| 2007–2024 | Included study publication years | 16 studies | Evidence spans 17 years yet remains sparse and mostly perception-based |
| 31 July 2026 | Top reported pharmacist role | Compounding/dispensing in 10/16 studies (62.5%) | Pharmacists commonly address formulation and administration challenges for animal patients |
| 31 July 2026 | Drug information / consultation | 6/16 studies (37.5%) | Pharmacists provide DI but acceptance varies by region and perceived species expertise |
| 31 July 2026 | Geographic contributors | United States n=7, New Zealand n=3, Japan n=3 | Regional practice models and regulatory frameworks shape collaboration |
Implications for qualitative researchers studying interprofessional veterinary teams
Answer: Qualitative researchers should focus on role perception, species-specific competency narratives, and regional regulatory context because Kambayashi et al. found these themes drive barriers and enablers (PLOS One, 2026).
According to Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 2026), veterinarians often cite pharmacists' limited training in species-specific physiology as a key barrier, so interview guides should include prompts around educational background, specific safety incidents, and expectations for clinical versus administrative roles.
According to Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 2026), regional differences are pronounced, therefore multi-site or multi-language qualitative designs and translated instruments are needed to capture non-English practice innovations identified in Japan and Taiwan.
How Evidano helps: apply AI-enabled qualitative methods to this evidence base
Problem: Sparse, scattered qualitative evidence → Solution: Rapid thematic mapping
Evidano is an AI-powered qualitative data analysis platform that helps researchers analyze interviews, open-ended surveys, and documents.
Evidano can ingest the PLOS One article and its 16 included studies (PDFs or transcripts) to produce thematic codes, code frequencies, and co-occurrence networks that reveal whether compounding, drug information, or safety clusters dominate in different regions.
Evidano feature mapping: Problem: scattered documents and survey text → Feature: bulk document ingestion and automated thematic extraction (Evidano features).
Problem: multi-language literature and transcripts → Solution: integrated translation and custom dictionaries
According to Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 2026), non-English studies (notably Japanese reports) contain practice innovations that are hard to surface without translation.
Evidano supports translation with custom dictionaries so teams can harmonize Japanese and English texts and include local terms like Kampo in analytical labels (Evidano translation).
Problem: interview audio and owner narratives → Solution: accurate transcription and PII-safe processing
According to Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 2026), many included studies used surveys and interviews; collecting similar primary data requires accurate transcription.
Evidano offers speech-to-text with custom dictionaries and PII redaction to convert owner and clinician interviews into research-ready text (Evidano speech-to-text).
Problem: wanting rapid answers for stakeholders → Solution: AI chat and visualizations
According to Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 2026), stakeholders need clear role definitions and evidence to change curricula and practice.
Evidano’s AI chat over your documents and visualizations (word clouds, co-occurrence networks) lets teams produce stakeholder-ready summaries that reference specific quotes and study IDs.
FAQ: veterinarian–pharmacist collaboration
What are the most common pharmacist roles in veterinary settings?
Answer: The scoping review reports compounding and dispensing as the most common roles, occurring in 62.5% of included studies (10 of 16), and drug information in 37.5% (6 of 16) (Kambayashi et al., PLOS One, 2026).
Supporting detail: According to Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 2026), compounding dominates in North America and Oceania, while inventory and management roles are more common in parts of Asia.
How strong is the evidence that pharmacists improve veterinary clinical outcomes?
Answer: Evidence is weak and mostly perception-based; the review found few objective outcome studies and notes a need for quantitative research (Kambayashi et al., PLOS One, 2026).
Supporting detail: According to Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 2026), most included studies were cross-sectional surveys and no robust trials measuring adverse event reduction or clinical endpoints were identified.
What barriers prevent deeper clinical collaboration between veterinarians and pharmacists?
Answer: The primary barrier is clinicians' concern about pharmacists' training in species-specific physiology, which undermines trust for clinical decision roles (Kambayashi et al., PLOS One, 2026).
Supporting detail: According to Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 2026), reported practical problems include unauthorized substitutions and regulatory variation in compounding standards.
How can qualitative teams design a multi-country study on this topic?
Answer: Teams should combine bilingual interview guides, purposive sampling across settings (community pharmacy, university hospital, zoo), and a mixed-methods plan for thematic and frequency analyses (recommended by Kambayashi et al., PLOS One, 2026).
Supporting detail: According to Kambayashi et al. (PLOS One, 2026), including non-English databases such as Ichushi-Web and translating local studies reveals unique practices like Kampo involvement in Japan.
Conclusion & Next Steps
Answer: The PLOS One scoping review shows pharmacists are increasingly involved in veterinary care, primarily through compounding and drug information, but research is limited and uneven across regions (Kambayashi et al., PLOS One, 31 July 2026).
For qualitative researchers, immediate next steps are: (1) curate the 16 included studies and relevant grey literature, (2) design interview guides that probe species-specific competency and regulatory context, and (3) use AI-enabled tools to accelerate coding and produce traceable evidence for stakeholders.
If you want to test this workflow, map your documents into Evidano for automated theming, multi-language harmonization, and stakeholder-ready visualizations; you can learn more on the Evidano features page.
Try practical analysis now: Try Evidano for free.