Abstract
The handling of narcotic drugs is strictly regulated by the Narcotics and Psychotropics Control Law in which the legal obligations and responsibilities in the management of such drugs are outlined with a view to ensuring that they are used properly. As the keeping of manual records on the use of narcotic drugs is a time-consuming task, Hokkaido University Hospital, introduced a computerized drugs order-entry system in October 2003 to increase efficiency in the management of narcotic drugs.
In creating the system, data on orders for narcotic injections, numbers of injections used and records of returned narcotics were input. Using this data, the system is able to automatically print out various ledgers, such as narcotics ledgers and discarded narcotics ledgers, and other documents.
The introduction of this system has simplified the procedure of keeping records on narcotics, which has considerably shortened the time required to prepare various ledgers, and increased efficiency in the management of narcotics in the pharmacy. The work load in returning narcotics at each ward has also been reduced.
