Introductory Teaching of Pharmacoeconomics in Pharmaceutical Education

Abstract

The current conditions of the medical system and the health insurance system in Japan and situations in other countries indicate that pharmacoeconomics will become indispensable for pharmacists. In the model core curriculum issued by the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan in August 2002 pharmacoeconomics is a special field of pharmaceutical science to be taught at colleges. However, most instructors at colleges of pharmaceutical science are unfamiliar with pharmacoeconomics. I shall describe efforts to introduce pharmacoeconomics into the curriculum for pharmaceutical science. Because some instructors opposed a class devoted to pharmacoeconomics, I started to teach pharmacoeconomics as a part of an existing class. Considerable effort will be required to establish a required class devoted to pharmacoeconomics.