Abstract
Developing an effective home-based palliative care system in Japan has become more urgent following the addition of Home-Care Support Medical Clinics to the National Health Insurance scheme in 2006 and implementation of the Cancer Control Act in 2007. Additionally, shortening the number of days spent in acute-care hospitals and switching the provision of most anticancer therapies from a hospital setting to the home have increased this urgency. However, the number of cancer patients who choose to die at home remains low (5% to 6%) and indicates that a home-based palliative care system has not been adequately promoted. We discuss these issues from the pharmacist's viewpoint in this article.
