Several developed countries have implemented pharmacy health coaching on chronic diseases; however, no research has been found on pharmacy health coaching on substance use disorder, where addiction is a chronic disease similar to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Meanwhile, the concept of the pharmacy health coachingmodel is different among researchers. This study aimed to determine health professionals' perspectives on pharmacy health coaching competencies through focus group discussion (FGD). Methods: The FGD was conducted with 11 health professionals in different institutions and professions. A purposive sampling strategy was used. The discussion results were recorded and transcribed verbatim for further thematic analysis inductively. Results: The FGD lasted for 150 minutes, where the saturation of answers from the participants was fulfilled. We found that the competencies included attitude, knowledge, and skills. Attitudes covered confidence, accountability, high spirits, and strong encouragement, considering that addiction patients highly tend to relapse. The knowledge included drugs and their effects, brain disease, pharmacology of drugs used for comorbid addiction patients, the concept of medication adherence, and the trans-theoretical model stage of change. Meanwhile, the skills included practical communication skills, collaboration skills, consultation skills, and mastery of motivational interviewing. Conclusion: The competencies, including attitude, knowledge, and skills of pharmacy health coaches, must be provided through a structured, systematic, and measurable training process by professionals in their field.

Keywords : Medication adherence, pharmaceutical services, motivational interviewing, quality of life, substance-related disorders, pharmacy health coaching.