抄録
The major requirement for the hospital pharmacist is the practice of good pharmaceutical care. In this study, we examined the content of such pharmaceutical care and whether the average number of drugs, drug costs and the incidence of adverse drug events was reduced by the presence of the pharmacist in the neurology ward of Nagoya Daini Red Cross Hospital. We also considered ways of improving the function of clinical pharmacists in the future.
The number of the clinical pharmacy practices for the month of September 2000 was 762 broken down into dispensing of drugs, consultation with patients and other clinical pharmacy practices, with 198, 338 and 226 practices each, respectively. The greatest proportion of other clinical pharmacy practices involved supplying drug information, with advice on prescription changes and amending prescriptions coming next. The number of the clinical pharmacy practices increased from 762 in 2000 to 893 in 2003, with practices covering a broad range of functions, all needing specialist pharmaceutical knowledge. Over this period, the average number of drugs in prescriptions, drug costs and incidence of adverse drug events decreased, which resulted from pharmacists ensuring that drugs were used properly by amending prescriptions.
A major goal of clinical pharmacists is to ensure that drugs are used properly and this can be achieved through their active involvement in all aspects of pharmaceutical care as an active member of the health care team. Their role should not be limited to instructing patients on how to take drugs.
