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Vol.:(0123456789)International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy https://doi.org/10.1007/s11096-026-02171-7RESEARCHA qualitative exploration of healthcare professionals’ perspectives on the role of pharmacists in screening older adults for depression during medication reviewsDuha N. Gide 1,3  · Sarira El?Den 1  · Lisa Kouladjian O’Donnell 1,2  · Claire L. O’Reilly 1 Received: 7 March 2026 / Accepted: 24 May 2026 © The Author(s) 2026AbstractIntroduction Late-life depression (LLD) (depression occurring in individuals aged ≥ 65 years) often goes underdiagnosed and undertreated. Pharmacists who conduct medication reviews may play a signif i cant role in LLD screening.Aim This study aimed to explore healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) perspectives regarding the role of pharmacists in LLD screening for older adults during medication reviews.Method A semi-structured interview guide was developed, guided by the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA). HCPs across Australia were recruited via purposive sampling through professional organisations’ social media and e-news-letters distributed by primary health networks, and via convenience sampling through departmental meetings and emails at Royal North Shore Hospital, New South Wales, Australia. The interviews explored HCPs’ acceptability and perspectives regarding the role of pharmacists in LLD screening. Key themes and subthemes were identif i ed using inductive thematic analysis. Each subtheme was then deductively mapped to the TFA constructs.Results Twenty-eight HCPs participated in the interviews, including 10 credentialed pharmacists (35.7%), nine hospital pharmacists (32.1%), fi ve geriatricians (17.9%) and four general practitioners (14.3%). Most participants were female (n = 22; 78.6%) and practising in New South Wales, Australia (n = 17; 60.7%). The duration of interviews ranged from 21 to 55 min (M = 33 min, SD = 9 min). Five key themes were identif i ed, including Considerations for service delivery, Patients’ homes as screening setting, Resource requirements, Timely follow-up, and Benef i ts of screening. These themes were further divided into eight subthemes. HCPs generally viewed pharmacist-delivered LLD screening as acceptable, provided certain factors were addressed prior to implementation. Facilitators such as increased patient comfort in their homes and the importance of mental health training were noted; however, barriers such as time constraints, lack of remuneration for additional services and the dif f i culties of timely follow-up may impede the provision of such services.Conclusion HCPs were generally accepting of pharmacist-delivered LLD screening during medication reviews, and per-ceived pharmacists to have a role in such services. Recommendations for future implementation include targeted mental health training for credentialed pharmacists, appropriate remuneration, and timely follow-up pathways for at-risk patients.Keywords Aged · Depression · Depression screening · Pharmacists · Medication reviewImpact statements• Healthcare professionals recognise pharmacists’ potential role in late-life depression screening during medication reviews, underscoring the need to address barriers to ensure ef f ective and sustainable service delivery.• Implementing remuneration models, mental health train-ing initiatives, and establishing clear referral pathways may improve service delivery and increase pharmacists’ identif i cation of older adults at risk of depression.• Utilising depression screening tools during medication reviews may facilitate timely follow-up, improve mental health outcomes in older adults, and strengthen pharma-cists’ contributions to early intervention and improved quality of life for older adults.Extended author information available on the last page of the article