薬局における医療情報源と調剤機器の現状と課題

～千葉県における過去の調査結果を踏まえて～

抄録

Because of the large volume of medical information used in medical settings, we conducted a study on the sources that pharmacies in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, utilize to obtain drug and patient information. We also looked at the status of dispensing devices in pharmacies for functions such as patient information management.
We investigated the information sources for acquiring patient information and prescription questions, and the status of books and journals used for acquiring drug information. With respect to dispensing devices, we investigated the equipment used for patient information management and drug preparation.
The most common means for obtaining patient information were drug profile books (95.5%), patient communication (95.1%) and medication histories (91.0%). Compared to 2004, these results showed a significant rise in the use of drug profile books and medication histories to obtain information (P < 0.01). The top method for confirmation when there was a question about a prescription being taken was patient communication (86.7%), followed by contacting healthcare institutions such as by telephone or fax (81.2%), and medication histories (80.0%). Of the pharmacies polled, 96.2% had a computerized medical fee receipt management system and 50.3% had an electronic drug history system. While a mere 1.7% of the pharmacies had no reference books, the rate rose to 54.4% for pharmacies without academic or technical journals.
Although pharmacies utilize drug profile books and medication histories to collect information, the penetration rate of electronic drug history systems is inadequate. In addition, measures that will increase the low rate of journal subscriptions must be studied.