Practical Verification of the Usefulness of Cooperation by Sharing Patient Information between Pharmacy Pharmacists and Visiting Nurses

Abstract

The preliminary trial began with the exchange of reports between pharmacy pharmacists and nurses from home-visit nursing stations in Tempaku-ku, Nagoya-city, and then the collection of survey results to investigate the transition of mutual credibility, opinions on maintaining alignments, and the effect of collaboration. It was established that there were distinct viewpoints based on professions, even when the cases belonged to the same category in the sharing reports. For instance, in terms of pharmacotherapy, the reports by pharmacists were focused on suggesting pharmaceutical management such as left-over medicines or prescriptions, whereas the reports by nurses were targeted on how to finish up all prescribed medicines and described more vital signs, treatments, and cognitive ability in the category of symptom. In the survey results, 86.7% of the respondents answered that sharing information between pharmacists and nurses should strengthen the synergistic effect. It was suggested that the working relationship between pharmacists and nurses would develop by sharing information with each other. And, ultimately, each pharmacist’s and nurse’s viewpoint will be expected to play a significant role in providing a stronger support for an ideal life according to the patient’s will, fostering a very intense relationship across different professions alongside all assessments and proposals based on expertise, and improving the quality of each work.