2011 Volume 30 Issue 2 Pages 57-63
When a patient undergoes medical treatment at multiple medical institutions, it is important that doctors are informed of the pharmacotherapy received by the patient at other institutions to prevent repeated administration and interaction of medicines. The provision of inaccurate pharmacotherapy information could cause problems such as a change in the planned method of treatment and occurrence of side effects.
To investigate how pharmacotherapy information for each patient is managed in actual medical sites, we conducted questionnaire surveys on patients and doctors/dentists, and attempted to identify the differences in understanding between the patients and doctors/dentists.
The results indicated that although there is a slight inconsistency among departments, many doctors/dentists obtain information on the pharmacotherapy of their patients at other institutions by using several means including medicine notebooks. On the other hand, the survey found that patients do not sufficiently understand the importance of providing information about their pharmacotherapy.
It is important to educate patients on the importance of providing doctors with information about their pharmacotherapy, and how to use a medicine notebook. Furthermore, the current system that allows doctors to give medical treatment without confirming the latest pharmacotherapy information should be improved.
