Abstract
Objective: In Japan, where Kampo medicine is not legally recognized, yet Kampo medicines are distributed as medicines, it can be said that there is an urgent need to educate medical professionals working in the field, especially pharmacists, about Kampo medicine. Western medicine and Kampo medicine are based on fundamentally different theoretical systems, so they should be clearly distinguished to avoid confusion, and Kampo medicine should be practiced by strictly adhering to traditional methodology. In a situation where there are so many items related to Western medicine, it is also necessary to streamline Kampo medicine education.
Method: By referring to papers on attempts to educate people about Kampo medicine at medical and pharmaceutical universities and surveys of pharmacists’ attitudes, we will identify the skills related to Kampo medicine required in the field. Furthermore, based on the author's lecture experience, we will create a new classification of prescriptions as a model that is easy to teach in a short amount of time. Additionally, by unraveling the history of Kampo prescriptions, we will prove that this model does not deviate from the scope of traditional medicine.
Results and Discussion: In this paper, we present a new classification method for formulas that combines the classification of Complement and Purification with a 3D model (the axis of cold and heat, the axis of moistness and dryness, and the axis of circulation and inhibition) to allow students to learn Kampo theory more easily and rationally. We will also demonstrate that this classification method does not deviate from the scope of traditional medicine. Naturally, training for pharmacists in the field will be of great use in university education in medical and pharmaceutical fields.
