The primary problem for veterinary teams and researchers is that evidence on veterinarian-pharmacist collaboration is limited, fragmented, and regionally variable. The primary keyword, veterinarian-pharmacist collaboration, describes this cross-professional interface that the PLOS ONE scoping review maps and quantifies. This post explains how AI-enabled qualitative research can extract themes, quantify frequencies, and surface action priorities from the PLOS ONE evidence to help researchers, hospital pharmacists, and veterinary managers make practical decisions.
Key Takeaways
According to the PLOS ONE scoping review (Kambayashi et al., 2026), veterinarian-pharmacist collaboration is currently limited and regionally variable, with pharmacists most often contributing compounding and drug information support. The authors report that their search retrieved 239 records and included 16 studies published between 2007 and 2024.
- 239 records were retrieved in the literature search, and 16 studies were included after screening, according to PLOS ONE (searches complete to 30 August 2025).
- 10 of 16 studies (62.5%) reported pharmacists performing compounding and dispensing for animal patients, according to PLOS ONE (Kambayashi et al., 2026).
- 6 of 16 studies (37.5%) reported pharmacists providing drug information and consultations, and 4 of 16 (25.0%) reported inventory and supply roles, according to PLOS ONE (published 31 July 2026).
- The PLOS ONE authors conclude, “This scoping review demonstrates that veterinarian–pharmacist collaboration is described within a limited and regionally variable evidence base, ” highlighting the need for targeted research and education.
What Happened and how the review was done
What happened: the authors conducted a scoping review to map roles, practices, and perceptions in veterinarian-pharmacist collaboration, as reported in PLOS ONE (Kambayashi et al., 2026).
The PLOS ONE review searched PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library, Ichushi-Web, and Google Scholar through 30 August 2025, retrieved 239 records, removed duplicates, and after title/abstract and full-text screening included 16 studies published between 2007 and 2024.
The PLOS ONE review found that most included studies used cross-sectional surveys and that studies originated mainly in the United States (n = 7), New Zealand (n = 3), and Japan (n = 3).
The PLOS ONE authors identified five theme categories during data extraction and reported that community pharmacy, veterinary hospital, zoo, and academic settings were represented across the 16 studies.
Direct quotation from the source: "Pharmacists are expanding their participation in veterinary healthcare teams and assuming roles beyond traditional dispensing duties, " wrote Kambayashi et al. in PLOS ONE (2026).
Findings Snapshot
| Date / Source | Metric | Value | Implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Aug 2025 (search end) / PLOS ONE | Records retrieved | 239 | Broad initial capture but many non-eligible records |
| 31 Jul 2026 / PLOS ONE | Studies included | 16 (published 2007–2024) | Limited evidence base for definitive models |
| 31 Jul 2026 / PLOS ONE | Compounding & dispensing reported | 10 of 16 studies (62.5%) | Compounding is the dominant pharmacist role internationally |
| 31 Jul 2026 / PLOS ONE | Drug information / consultation | 6 of 16 studies (37.5%) | Pharmacists often serve as DI resources, not full clinical partners |
| 31 Jul 2026 / PLOS ONE | Inventory / supply roles | 4 of 16 studies (25.0%) | Operational roles may be an accessible entry point for collaboration |
Implications for veterinary researchers and clinical teams
Implication for researchers: the PLOS ONE review shows that high-quality quantitative outcome studies are scarce and that future research should measure clinical, safety, and economic impacts of pharmacist integration.
Implication for veterinary managers: PLOS ONE (Kambayashi et al., 2026) indicates that inventory management, compounding, and drug information are pragmatic starting functions for partnering with pharmacists where trust in species-specific pharmacology is still developing.
Implication for educators: PLOS ONE highlights a repeatedly reported training gap, and the authors recommend specialized veterinary pharmacotherapy content in pharmacy curricula and continued professional education to reduce the perceived knowledge barrier.
How Evidano Helps
Problem: fragmented qualitative evidence → Solution: fast 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 16 included studies and any supporting reports, then run thematic and frequency analyses to surface recurring roles (e.g., compounding in 62.5% of studies) and regional patterns reported in PLOS ONE (Kambayashi et al., 2026).
Use case: combine the PLOS ONE text plus local survey transcripts, then run automated code co-occurrence and sentiment summaries to prioritize research questions for measurable outcomes.
Problem: slow synthesis of mixed formats → Solution: document + spreadsheet fusion
Evidano supports simultaneous ingestion of documents and survey spreadsheets, enabling cross-segment analysis of veterinarian, pharmacist, and owner perspectives reported across the PLOS ONE corpus.
Use case: link survey metadata (role, region, year) to qualitative codes and generate cross-tabulated findings to identify where compounding dominates versus where inventory roles are more common.
Problem: tracing evidence and quotes → Solution: exportable evidence trails
Evidano preserves source-level citations and verbatim quotes, so teams can reproduce lines of evidence such as the PLOS ONE quotation, "This scoping review demonstrates that veterinarian–pharmacist collaboration is described within a limited and regionally variable evidence base, " for reports and grant applications.
Learn more about features on the Evidano features page: Evidano features.
FAQ: veterinarian-pharmacist collaboration
What did the PLOS ONE review find about the most common pharmacist roles?
Answer: The PLOS ONE scoping review found compounding and dispensing to be the most frequently described pharmacist role, appearing in 10 of 16 studies (62.5%).
Supporting detail: The PLOS ONE review (Kambayashi et al., 2026) also reported drug information in 6 of 16 studies (37.5%) and inventory roles in 4 of 16 studies (25.0%).
Why is integration uneven across regions?
Answer: The PLOS ONE authors report that regulatory environments, practice patterns, and education differ by country, producing regionally distinct collaboration models.
Supporting detail: PLOS ONE notes that the United States contributed 7 studies, New Zealand 3, and Japan 3, and that Western settings emphasize compounding while some Asian settings emphasize inventory and information roles.
How can qualitative AI tools accelerate research on this topic?
Answer: AI-enabled qualitative tools speed coding, surface co-occurring themes, and quantify frequencies across heterogeneous texts, enabling faster, reproducible syntheses than manual methods alone.
Supporting detail: By importing full-text articles, survey transcripts, and organizational guidance (for example, the American Veterinary Medical Association guidance), researchers can extract policy-relevant themes and generate codebooks for subsequent quantitative testing.
Does the PLOS ONE review recommend educational changes?
Answer: Yes, the PLOS ONE review recommends enhanced veterinary-specific pharmacotherapy education for pharmacists to address trust and competency gaps.
Supporting detail: Kambayashi et al. (2026) explicitly call for pharmacy curricula adjustments and expanded practical training such as residencies and externships to enable deeper clinical collaboration.
Conclusion & Next Steps
The PLOS ONE scoping review (Kambayashi et al., 2026) documents a limited, regionally variable evidence base where compounding and drug information dominate current pharmacist contributions.
AI-enabled qualitative research can rapidly convert the PLOS ONE text and local transcripts into prioritized research questions, reproducible codebooks, and actionable recommendations for education and pilot collaborations.
If you are planning a mixed-methods evaluation or want to build an evidence-driven pilot for pharmacist integration, use AI tools to scale synthesis and preserve traceable quotes and citations.
Get started with a hands-on trial: Try Evidano for free.