Analysis of the Characteristics of Pharmacies and Pharmacists Regarding Prescription Inquiries

Abstract

 Pharmacists contribute to improving the safety of pharmacotherapy and the efficiency of healthcare financing through prescription inquiries. This study aimed to examine the challenges to future pharmacist services by analysing the relationship between the characteristics of pharmacies/pharmacists and the number of prescription inquiries. The survey was conducted in cooperation with the Japan Pharmaceutical Association and the Nippon Pharmacy Association. Individual members of each organisation were asked to respond to an online survey form. The participants were allowed to choose any one-month period between December 2018 and March 2019 to answer the online questionnaire. Valid survey responses were obtained from 2,117 pharmacies (76％) and 5,024 pharmacists (88％). The results of this study showed that the number of prescription inquiries was significantly higher in the “71-85,” “86-94,” and “95％ or more” groups compared to the “70％ or less” prescription concentration rate group. In terms of pharmacist information, the number of prescription inquiries was significantly higher in the “Understanding the prescribing intentions of collaborating physicians and the disease background of the patient” group and the “Daily collaboration with physicians of the main responding medical institution” group. Furthermore, the number of prescription inquiries was significantly higher in the “Not enough time for medication guidance” group and the “Dissatisfied with pharmacists’ work” group. This study indicated that the relationship between pharmacies/pharmacists and medical institutions/physicians affects the number of prescription inquiries. It was also suggested that a certain number of pharmacists find prescription inquiries burdensome, and that improving the efficiency of pharmacist work is an issue to be addressed in the future.