2025 Volume 9 Article ID: e09053
Japan’s healthcare system has long relied on physicians’ extended working hours. Their altruistic attitudes, cultivated through such dedication, have earned the trust of the public. The accumulation of clinical knowledge and experience has been essential to the development of medical professionalism. Pharmacists, likewise, must acquire comparable professionalism to gain public confidence. In April 2024, Japan implemented a work style reform for physicians, introducing legal limits on overtime work. To reduce physicians’ burden, task shifting and task sharing with pharmacists have been promoted, accompanied by increasing demands for efficiency in pharmacy practice. However, excessive emphasis on efficiency may compromise the effectiveness and safety of pharmacotherapy. Moreover, professionalism encompasses diverse elements—ethical judgment, reflective practice, and patient-centered care—that require sufficient time and experience to develop. Pharmacists now face a critical challenge: to foster genuine professionalism while balancing it with the growing pressure for operational efficiency. Navigating this tension will be essential for pharmacists to contribute meaningfully to team-based healthcare and to maintain public trust in an evolving healthcare environment.
