Current Status and Future Prospects of ICT Education in Pharmacy

Abstract

As it nears the year 2040, Japan is facing various problems such as demographic changes, coexistence of multiple diseases, multiple deaths, health disparities, increasing medical costs, emerging and reemerging infectious diseases, and disaster risks. The utilization of Pharma Tech such as ICT, AI, and robotics by pharmacists is essential to solve these problems. However, a survey of current pharmacy school syllabi shows that ICT literacy education required for pharmacists is insufficient. Currently, each university is revising the Model Core Curriculum for Pharmacy starting in 2024, and a new ICT literacy courses is being constructed. In the near future, we expect that pharmacists with high ICT literacy will be able to solve the problems of medical care, nursing care, and welfare that are piling up in Japan.