The pharmacy profession has undergone tremendous changes over the past few decades. Pharmacists’ roles have expanded their boundaries to encompass more patient-centered services. However, the degree to which these roles are practised may vary. This scoping review is aimed at describing the extent and range of the professional pharmacy services offered in hospital pharmacies across different countries and the barriers underlying inappropriate or incomplete implementation of these services. Studies published in the English language between 2015 and 2019 were retrieved from the following databases: PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, EBSCO Discovery Service, and Web of Science. A thematic analysis across the included studies produced two main themes. “Scope of practice” comprised three subthemes: pharmaceutical care practice, clinical pharmacy practice, and public health services and “Multiple levels of influence” comprised five subthemes: individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and public policy-related factors. The hospital pharmacy services across countries ranged from traditional drug-centered pharmacy practice to a more progressive, clinically oriented practice. In some countries, there is an apparent inadequacy in the clinical pharmacy services provided compared to other clinical settings. Understanding the current pharmacy practice culture across different health care systems is an essential step towards improving the profession.

Shared decision-making (SDM) has been recognized as an important tool in the mental health field and considered as a crucial component of patient-centered care. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop a strategic tool towards the promotion and implementation of SDM in the use of antidepressants among patients with major depressive disorder. Nineteen doctors and 11 major depressive disorder patients who are involved in psychiatric outpatient clinic appointments were purposively selected and recruited to participate in one of six focus groups in a large teaching hospital in Malaysia. Focus groups were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a thematic approach to identify current views on providing information needed for SDM practice towards its implementation in near future. Patients’ and doctors’ views were organized into six major themes, which are; summary of treatment options, correct ways of taking medication, potential side effects of treatments related to patients, sharing of case study related to the treatment options, cost of treatment options, and input from pharmacist. The information may be included in the SDM tool which can be useful to inform further research efforts and developments that contribute towards the successful implementation of SDM into clinical practice.

Introduction: Hypertension and its complications are massive global health issues. Major limitations in hypertensive patients’ treatment include suboptimal blood pressure control and nonadherence to medication. The popularity of telemedicine has risen in recent years. Mobile phone applications intervention in particular, provides features including medication-taking, refilling reminders, and biometric results tracker resulting in better health outcomes and improved medication adherence. This review aims to assess the effectiveness of mobile application in improving adherence in hypertensive patients. Methods: PubMed, Scopus, and Cochrane Library were searched with filters applied for studies published between 2013 and 2023 and content published in English with the keywords; telemedicine, mobile apps, medication adherence, and hypertension. These keywords were joined using Boolean operators for an effective search. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis Statement was followed for this systematic review. The Mixed Method Appraisal Tool was used to assess the quality of the included studies. The data was extracted by the authors and validated by another for accuracy and completeness. Results: Twelve studies ranging from moderate to high quality were included in this review. A total of 10 studies showed a statistically significant improvement (p < 0.001) in medication adherence with mobile apps intervention. The combined apps features from the mobile apps empower patients to be more adherent, involved and informed about their treatment progress. Conclusion: Hypertensive patients’ medication adherence improved with mobile apps intervention. However, the heterogeneity of adherence measurement methods and apps functionality in the included studies calls for further studies to determine the effectiveness of specific mobile apps feature as well as the standardisation of the adherence measurement method used.

Introduction: The rising prevalence of mental illness is a growing concern. Integrating pharmacists into mental health care teams could help address this challenge by improving service quality and accessibility for patients. This study investigates pharmacists' opinions regarding treatment care in the Kuantan and Pekan areas and their attitudes toward patient-centred mental health pharmacy services. Methods: A qualitative study was conducted with 63 pharmacists around Kuantan and Pekan, Pahang, utilising a focus group discussion (FGD) style. The pharmacists were selected through purposive sampling from 2 general hospitals, 2 district health offices, and 1 teaching hospital. All locations are primary healthcare in Malaysia. The focus group topic guide was created using the relevant literature research. The entire interviews were audio-recorded and then transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis was performed inductively to analyse the data. Results: This study involved 14 focus group sessions with all 63 pharmacists participating. Every interview was in person at the designated sites. From the interviews, 6 key themes were identified. 1. Role of pharmacists in mental health care. 2. Pharmacists-patients’ interactions. 3. Interprofessional collaborations with other healthcare workers. 4. Challenges and barriers. 5. Training needs for pharmacists and lastly 6. Improvement on the role of pharmacists and future practice. Conclusion: This research explores Malaysian pharmacists' perspectives on mental health treatments. It highlights pharmacists' potential contributions to mental health care, the challenges they face when assisting patients with mental health conditions, and the current limitations of mental health services in Malaysia's primary healthcare settings, hospitals, and Klinik Kesihatan.

Introduction: Mobile applications (apps) have gained prominence in health education, particularly for teaching human anatomy, by offering interactive and personalised platforms that enhance learning for both educators and students. Mobile Application Rubric for Learning (MARuL), a validated assessment tool, was designed to rate the quality of educational apps focusing on the teaching and learning aspects. This study aimed to systematically search and evaluate the quality of human anatomy apps for student learning using MARuL. Methods: The iOS App Store was searched using related keywords. The inclusion criteria were: English language, focus on human anatomy learning, non-gaming apps, a star rating of 4.0 or above, and availability of a free version. Two trained reviewers rated the apps independently. Results were computed using Jamovi 2.3.28 and Microsoft Excel (version 16). Results: The systematic search resulted in 20 relevant apps for evaluation. The reliability measures between the two raters in the overall MARuL score showed good reliability with ICC = 0.821 (95% CI: 0.602–0.925). The top three apps with the highest MARuL score are BioDigital Human 3D Anatomy , TeachMeAnatomy and Anatomyka Atlas . Among the four sections assessed in MARuL evaluation (Teaching and Learning, User-centred, Professionalism, and Usability), the Usability section emerged as the highest-rated domain, largely because most apps focused on aesthetics, functionality, ease of use, and technical specifications. Conclusion: The three highest-scoring apps demonstrated high quality and fulfilled the criterion as probably valuable according to the MARuL scale. Future research should assess the effectiveness of top-rated apps in undergraduate anatomy pedagogy.