ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to identify patient-side factors that facilitate their provision of information to pharmacists (Survey A) and identify questions to assess their willingness to provide information to pharmacies (Survey B). Two web-based surveys were conducted among individuals aged 50-79 years who regularly brought their prescriptions to pharmacies. Survey A was conducted in February 2020 with 540 respondents. Multiple regression analysis was conducted, with “patients’ provision of information to pharmacies” as the objective variable. Survey B was conducted in November 2020 with 126 respondents for each three patterns of questions regarding “patients’ provision of information to pharmacies.” The distribution of responses was compared. More than half of the respondents were willing to provide information to pharmacists on the contents of the initial questionnaire. In contrast, less than half of the respondents were willing to provide information about the physician’s explanation of drug treatment, history of the disease, concerns and consultations about medication, blood tests results, and unusual symptoms. Factors on the patients’ side that promoted the provision of information included having a family pharmacist, a sense of trust in the pharmacist, recognition as a medical professional, and understanding the pharmacist’s work. As an indicator to evaluate the increase in patients’ willingness to provide information, the questionnaire statement “I will actively tell the pharmacist about [ ].” was found to be appropriate. Words such as a physician’s explanation of drug treatment, history of the disease were included in [ ].
ABSTRACT
During the preparation of anti-cancer drugs, mutual verification with another pharmacist is performed to prevent preparation mistakes. In a small-to-medium sized hospital with relatively few pharmacists, it is common for nurses to perform verifications. The nurses approach the safety cabinet only lightly protected by their clothing. Thus, occupational exposure to anti-cancer drugs, which are hazard drugs is a concern. To prevent occupational exposure, we implemented and investigated the effectiveness of an “anti-cancer drug preparation camera support system”, which allowed two-way communication and video recording between an anti-cancer drug preparation room and a pharmacy preparation room at different locations. The amount of exposure to anti-cancer drugs was defined as the time required to verify the anti-cancer drug. The average daily exposure time was calculated based on the number of verifications and the average time for each verification. This value was then compared with the exposure time when the camera system was implemented. In addition, the frequency of work interruption when a pharmacist verified, after the introduction, was assessed. The effectiveness of the camera supported system was validated, the verification time for anti-cancer drugs was reduced from 48.9±9.3 minutes/day to 4.4±0.9 minutes/day. This means that the occupational exposure time of 48.9±9.3 min/day for nurses was reduced to zero and the occupational exposure time for dispensing pharmacists was reduced to 4.4±0.9 min/day. In addition, it allowed pharmacists to properly confirm anti-cancer drugs preparations.
ABSTRACT
Objective: While pharmacies focus on interpersonal work, patients need to process a lot of information. Therefore, it is important for the pharmacy to provide information according to the situation. This study was conducted for the purpose of providing a video and paper media, and clarifying that it is useful to provide information in various mediums about the method of administering the powdered medicine, which requires an understanding of the operation.Method: Conducted a survey for those who brought prescriptions for infants from March 2016 to about a year and a half. We compared and verified the understanding of the medication method for infants between the paper medium group and the moving image medium group.Results: Differences in the background between the two media use groups were clarified, and path analysis confirmed differences in the factors that affect the reliable administration of each medium to infants. It was revealed that the evaluation of moving image media was higher than the comparison between the groups in terms of usability. Although there was no difference in the ability to use the medium at his own pace, the moving images were significantly higher in understanding the motion.Discussion: There is a limit to the understanding of motions with a single explanation at the pharmacy counter. It was confirmed in this study that information provision using a medium that can be used depending on the situation of the patient is useful as a complementary role in medication instruction. Providing information while appropriately combining information provision in various media is thought to reduce the burden on patients and contribute to improved adherence.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to examine how pharmacists can help patients and consumers to obtain appropriate drug information online. We clarified what kind of information about medicines patients and consumers were seeking online. “Yahoo! Chiebukuro”, the largest knowledge sharing community in Japan, was surveyed. We extracted questions related to drugs and healthcare posted in the period of August 1-7, 2017. The survey period was from January to April 2019. Questions that could not be answered by the pharmacist’s clinical judgment were excluded. The content of the extracted questions was analyzed.The extracted 283 posts included 345 questions. Questions related to prescribed drugs comprised 69.0% of questions and questions related to over-the-counter drugs comprised 17.2% of questions. Overall, 69.9% of the questions required expert judgment to be answered properly, although 80% of questions were posted within the pharmacy opening hours. The breakdown of 180 questions on prescribed drugs included 48 (26.7%) questions on drugs that affect the nervous system and sensory organs, 28 (15.6%) questions on drugs against pathogenic microorganisms, and 27 (15.0%) questions on analgesic/anti-inflammatory/allergic drugs. With regard to annual turnover, it was revealed that an estimated 15,000 medical and health care consultations were made online. A pharmacist should give instructions for taking prescribed drugs based on the assumption that patients and consumers will search for information on the internet.
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to identify the messages disseminated by television commercials about over-the-counter (OTC) oral drugs for analyzing the narrative structure of contents at a view of community pharmacists. We analyzed 92 television commercials about OTC oral drugs aired by 5 key commercial broadcasting stations from April 2013 to March 2014. We did the content analysis of the transcripts of television commercials ; 20 labels and 8 categories were found. The categories were “interesting the story,” “inspired desire for symptom improvement,” “emphasized attraction of the products,” “standing as a specific cure,” “products created a state of happiness,” “information about effect-efficacy and dosage,” “showing something other than drug-induced symptomatic improvement,” and “encouraging consumers to purchase the product.” The most common used categories to start TV-CM stories were “interesting the story” or “inspired desire for symptom improvement” and to end it was “encouraging consumers to purchase the product.” The message disseminated by television commercials about OTC oral drugs might misinform consumers regarding OTC drugs and self-care. Pharmacists should communicate with consumers to clear these misunderstandings instead of simply providing information about the effect-efficacy and dosage of OTC drugs.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research was to clarify the factors influencing the approval or disapproval and evaluative opinions of the public concerning separation of dispensing and prescribing functions. We conducted a Web survey with 2006 participants (September 2016). We conducted multiple logistic regression analysis and quantitative analysis of freely recorded their reasons about approval or disapproval. The approval rating was 29.2％ in persons who had had some prior experience with at the pharmacies (n＝1,778) and 41.9% in participants who made regular clinic visits and always filled prescriptions at the pharmacy (n＝430). Multiple logistic regression analysis of the data of participants who visited pharmacies (n＝1,778), identified that compared to participants who experienced side effects (OR＝1.34), the frequency of used pharmacies (OR：Odds ratio＝1.47), the filling burdened by having to fill prescriptions at the pharmacy (OR＝0.19, 1/OR＝5.18), there was a significant positive association for the approval. Analysis of qualitative data of the group that approved identified many labels related to ‘quality of results’, however no labels related to ‘quality of results’ were generated in the group which disapproved. Public approval or disapproval of non-hospital based prescription is mainly determined based on the burden or inconvenience incurred (due to waiting times, mobility-incurred time and energy, inconvenience associated with travel, inconvenience of repeated visits) when filling prescriptions at the pharmacy rather than on opinions regarding the pharmacy’s drug therapy service. Measures are required to increase the level of merit compared to the burden experienced in the use of pharmacy.
ABSTRACT
<p>In junior high school, educators with many different types of specialty jobs are involved in “education on the proper use of pharmaceutical products” and “drug-abuse resistance education”. Examples of these different jobs are physical education teachers, school nurses, school pharmacists. The aim of this study was to elucidate novel ideas and new directions in the future of medicine instructional education by clarifying the aims and thoughts of educators with different jobs on the education of pharmaceutical medicines and drug use. Based on the technique of Personal Attitude Construct (PAC) analysis, junior high school staff members involved in “education on the proper use of pharmaceutical products” and “drug-abuse resistance education” were interviewed regarding their aims and thoughts. Their responses were analyzed qualitatively. Five school pharmacists, five school nurses, and four physical education teachers were interviewed. The responses revealed that school pharmacists engaged in student education from the specialized perspective of pharmacology, school nurses engaged in student education from the perspective of imminent situations, and physical education teachers engaged in student education more from the perspective of student environment. This study suggested that “education on the proper use of pharmaceutical products” and “drug-abuse resistance education” should be a collaborative effort, so there were the different perspectives and aims of educators with different specialty jobs in the instruction of junior high school students on these subjects.</p>
ABSTRACT
To consider what pharmacists can do to prevent patients from having leftover prescription drugs, we conducted a qualitative study about the various causes behind the unused drugs. We interviewed one male and four female home-care patients who had leftover prescription drugs that pharmacists detected via their home visiting service. The Grounded Theory Approach was used for analysis, and two types were identified as “exogenous factors that cause confusion for the patient” and “patient’s personal thoughts and feelings.” “Exogenous factors that cause confusion” involved eight factors, including unsuitable dosing schedule for lifestyle, complex timing for taking medicine, and inadequate support for enhancing patients’ compliance. These factors were divided into ［problems with prescription］ and ［difficult changes to manage］. In “patient’s personal thoughts and feelings,” 16 concepts were identified and their broader concepts comprised six categories: ［distrust of drugs］, ［taking a positive view about one’s own non-compliance］, ［psychological distance from medical staff］, and others. It was assumed that there would be a perception gap of compliance between patients and medical staff. Moreover, patients affirmed their poor compliance and they did not see the occurrence of leftover drugs as a problem. Additionally, psychological distance from medical staff prevents patients from consultation. Therefore, pharmacists should check patients’ compliance for each drug as well as any medical problems. Knowing patients’ inherent mind revealed by this study, the pharmacist can assist medication alongside patients and contribute to the early prevention of unused drugs.
ABSTRACT
In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey among community pharmacists in Japan, to explore how they and the pharmacy’s management support a fellow pharmacist who has committed a medical error. Using stratified random sampling, we selected 900 pharmacies from national community pharmacies. The response rate for pharmacies was 31.7%, and we analyzed data from 572 pharmacists. It was observed that after a pharmacist committed a medical error, the subsequent treatment was relevant to the years of experience. Supervising pharmacists with little experience tended to answer that they “do not know how to get along with the colleague”. The backup to supervising pharmacists with little experience should be considerable to give care to pharmacist caused dispensing error. A few pharmacies have a support system for pharmacists concerned in an error; 38.9% of supervising pharmacists emphasized the significance of mental support. Therefore, it was suggested that concluded that head offices of pharmacies and the community pharmaceutical association should review their mental support system for pharmacists to work after committing an error.
ABSTRACT
We explored the association between understanding a proper use of over-the-counter cold medicines and a choice of information source to purchase such medicines. We conducted an internet survey in March 2011 regarding false perceptions about cold medicines as well as understanding of package inserts. Respondents (20〜69 years old)to the main survey were individuals who purchased cold medicines based on TV commercials (CM group) and those who purchased these medications in consultation with pharmacists (consultation group). We surveyed 121 and 159 respondents in the CM and consultation groups, respectively. We calculated the principal component scores for false perceptions of cold medicines and the respondents’ understanding of the package inserts. The median scores were 0.20 (CM group) and -0.08 (consultation group) false perceptions, and -0.18 (CM group) and 0.15 (consultation group) for understanding. The Mann-Whitney <i>U</i>-test revealed that the CM group had more misconceptions regarding cold medicines compared with the consultation group (<i>P</i><0.001). Furthermore, the consultation group acquired greater understanding of the package inserts than the reference CM group (<i>P</i>＝0.005). These results suggest an association between understanding the proper use of over-the-counter cold medicines and choice sources of information on purchasing these medicines. They further suggest that a lack of knowledge or understanding of cold medicines does not lead to consultations with a pharmacist about the purchase.
ABSTRACT
This study examines the effect on junior high school students’ understanding and usage frequency of medicines gained from education about medicines during elementary school. This education which we provided is tailored to the developmental stage of the child. We conducted a questionnaire directed at the first year students of a junior high school in Tokyo. We compared the responses to questions regarding the understanding and correct usage frequency of medicines between groups of students who had graduated from the elementary school (Group A : students who graduated from the elementary school where we provided the education about medicines, Group B : all students except those in Group A). In order to compare these, we calculated the scores about questions regarding the understanding and correct usage frequency of medicines using principal component analysis (PCA). The PCA score for understanding of medicine by group A was higher than that of group B ; a significant difference was found (<i>P</i><0.001). Therefore, this suggests that receiving education about medicines may be a factor that enhances students’ understanding of medicines. The PCA score for correct usage frequency of medicine by group A was higher than that of group B; a significant difference was found (<i>P＝</i>0.043). Therefore, this suggests that receiving education about medicines may be a factor that increases students’ correct usage frequency of medicines.