Abstract
In the present study, a questionnaire was sent to the pharmacies of all 82 hospitals that provide advanced treatment in Japan to ascertain the current working situation of hospital pharmacists and problems associated with their working conditions. Valid responses were obtained from 61 hospitals (recovery rate : 74.4%).
In their responses, 91.8% of the hospitals (56/61) said that they used a shift system. Only one pharmacist was on duty during the night shift on weekdays in 77.0% of these hospitals (n=47) and there was only one on the day shift on Sundays in 47.5% of them (n=29). As for the effect of prescription ordering systems, injection ordering systems, ampule dispensing systems, medicine conveyance systems and other automated systems, on the workload of hospital pharmacists, our questionnaire revealed that the workload of pharmacists working in the hospitals operating these systems for 18 hours or more was about 1.6 times greater than that for pharmacists working in hospitals operating them for less than 18 hours.
The present study showed that a small number of pharmacists work very long hours in shifts at many hospitals. This is a problem from the viewpoint of risk management, and so there is an urgent need to improve the working conditions of pharmacists who work in shifts. Furthermore, if automated systems are operated all daylong, it is necessary to consider the workload of the pharmacists on duty.
