Since we started both active and passive consultation regarding drug compliance for outpatients at the department of pharmacy, University of Tokyo Hospital in 1991, the records of such consultation have been carefully kept on ‘drug consultation sheets’. In the present study, we analyzed the consultation records from April to September in 1998. The case number of consultation during this period was 627; among them, active instructions were given to 409 cases (65%) while passive instructions were given to the others. The analysis showed that 28 cases (14patients) out of 627 cases experienced our consultation more than once; 13 (93%) of such patients were advised by different pharmacists and 10 (71%) were advised regarding the same drug, thus suggesting the need for a quick retrieval of past records. As a result, we designed a software system to integrate an electronic database for consultation records, including the contents of consultations, a list of the prescribed drugs and any OTC drugs which have been taken, the patient's characteristics, and a history of using a medication diary (so-called ‘Okusuri Techo’). We set up a local area network (LAN) using the database inside the hospital so that all accumulated information could be easily retrieved from any hospital terminal. The intranet-based management system of outpatient consultation records has now enabled a high consistency and efficiency in consultations by different pharmacists while also allowing for a quick compilation of all medical records.
