Implementing Comprehensive Medication Management (CMM) services uncovered the importance of the totality of the patient’s perspective in this process. The holistic approach takes into account the physical, mental and emotional well-being of individuals, as well as their socioeconomic circumstances. The aim of this study was to characterize the scientific evidence associated with CMM services that included this holistic approach. A scoping review was conducted based on Arksey and O’Malley’s method. Searches were performed in Google Scholar for papers published between 2010 and 2020 in English, Spanish and Portuguese. Study design, health contexts, sample of patients, results obtained, barriers and facilitators, and the integration of a holistic approach were determined. Two hundred and eighteen papers were evaluated, most of which focused on the implementation of this service through prospective observational studies. A minority of studies reported on a holistic approach, a smaller number examined the effect of social determinants of health, the patient’s medication experiences and the pharmacotherapy outcomes from the patient’s perspective. Despite the progress achieved, most of the referents do not yet reflect a broader view of the patient’s life situation and its relationship to pharmacotherapy and the ways in which the pharmacist implements holistic elements to solve or prevent drug-related problems.

This manuscript presents an argument for a broader use of qualitative methodologies to investigate the practice and the surroundings of pharmaceutical care. Albeit the use of qualitative research methods is growing in the health care field, it is still insufficient in the area of pharmaceutical care. Pharmaceutical care, as a patient-centered practice, calls for a more comprehensive and humanistic approach to research. It is our contention that the attempt to understand pharmaceutical care practice from the perspective of patients, pharmacists and other health care professionals, by means of using qualitative methods, would notably contribute to a better assessment of the value of pharmaceutical care programs in the health care system. Moreover, because a deeper understanding of the nuances of this practice can be achieved with the use of qualitative methods, this approach might also assist us in making the necessary changes to create more effective pharmaceutical care practices.