2023 Volume 10 Issue 1 Pages 41-53
This paper investigates Japanese community pharmacists' opinions on the opening of outsourcing of medication dispensing services and the resultant strengthening of clinical, patient-centered work, which is being considered by the Japanese government and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). In our nationwide internet-based awareness survey, we collected information on basic attributes of the pharmacists and their workplaces, including the size and location of the pharmacy where they work, gender, age, clinical experience, employment status, and daily patient contact time. We then presented them with material from the MHLW Working Group, discussing the potential opening of outsourcing of medication dispensing. We asked the pharmacists their opinions on the pros and cons of opening of outsourcing, their concerns, how they could utilize the time created by opening of outsourcing, and their awareness of potential clinical services such as in-home visits to provide pharmaceutical care. We analyzed a sample of 1,069 responses obtained from pharmacists working at chain pharmacies and independent pharmacies. Regarding the acceptance of opening of outsourcing, 524 (49.0%) respondents “agreed” or “somewhat agreed” with this initiative, far exceeding the 175 responses (16.4%) that “disagreed” or “somewhat disagreed.” This suggests that there is a high possibility that opening of outsourcing will lead to the strengthening of clinical pharmacy services, as intended by the Japanese government and the MHLW, although 370 (34.6%) respondents said the potential effect of the change was “unknown,” highlighting the unclear content of the government policy and the insufficient understanding of pharmacists of its potential implications.
