274COMMUNITY PHARMACISTS' ROLE IN PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS: A QUALITATIVE STUDYAs primary care patients' access to pharmacists is limited, community pharmacists play a critical role. To improve pharmacy service delivery, pharmacists and patients should optimize their interaction level. Objective: Describe how the community pharmacist is perceived and what expectations they have about the role. Methods: Four focus groups consisting of 20 participants were conducted. Racial and socioeconomic backgrounds of the participants varied. Transcripts were transcribed and audio recordings were made. All transcripts were analyzed thematically by two reviewers. Study rigor and validity were ensured with appropriate measures Results: A total of 5 distinct themes were identified after identifying facilitators and barriers. Throughout all four focus groups, pharmacists were most prominently discussed as healthcare professionals. Pharmacy as a unique healthcare provider, psychological perceptions towards pharmacists, importance of pharmacists, and government control over pharmacies were also identified, in decreasing order of prevalence. Conclusions: Community pharmacists' roles are seen differently by the public as a result of this study. It is the media, health authorities, pharmacists' knowledge level, their attire, their nationality, their age, and their pharmacy locations that determine their perceptionvicky29@gmail.comResearch1312023 Community Pharmacy Services,Pharmacies,Professional PracticeSaiteja G,Purushothaman MKLR Pharmacy College, Paloncha, Telangana-507115, India,KLR Pharmacy College, Paloncha, Telangana-507115, India