In April 2008,the Japanese government introduced a revised fee schedule for medical services.We report on pharmaceutical management for calculating administration fees under the revised schedule for the intensive care unit (ICU).We prepared a special form for standardizing pharmaceutical management for the ICU and its usefulness was evaluated through an interview survey of physicians.It was found that in the six-month period after the revised fee schedule was introduced,changes in prescriptions were necessary for 31 items in 94 cases (total interventions : 564 cases) for the ICU and 31 items in 38 cases (total interventions : 359 cases) for the coronary care unit (CCU).The physicians were also questioned on the benefits of pharmacist participation in intensive care management.Many physicians in the ICU said that it was useful to be able to inquire about a patient's history of adverse effects and their frequencies and many in the CCU said that it enabled them to check patients' drug histories as well as the drugs that they brought to hospital easily.In both units,physicians desired information on proper doses of anti-MRSA agents and other antibiotics.
The ICU management form we made was considered useful in that it allowed physicians to know about time-lapse circulatory dynamics and laboratory test results.Such information is necessary for pharmacotherapy used in the management of cardiovascular diseases.The form also provided documentation for drugs frequently requested by physicians and those requiring particular caution.
