Our group conducted a Medication Safety Culture Building Drive, enlisting the cooperation of pharmacy patients to clarify obstacles and verify the effect of the measures implemented. Pharmacists at 38 community pharmacies instituted a 3-month trial period of rigorous prescription confirmation by checking filled prescriptions against the accompanying drug information (DI) in the presence of patients at pharmacy counters, whenever prescription drugs were dispensed. During the first month, 29 pharmacies reported carrying out the program with the rate of patient coverage was over 50%; while 8 others reported that rate of patient coverage was less than 50%. Factors standing in the way of checking filled prescriptions with the patients could be characterized as “physical conditions,” “prescription content,” or “patient attributes.” The measures devised to counter these obstacles all fell within the categories of “education of patients and pharmacists,” “advance arrangements made in preparation for checking,” “methods of checking and nature of items checked,” “checking procedure,” and “DI literature.” After three month, 34 pharmacies reported that the effort had been effective. During the three months, the average implementation rate (patient coverage rate) was improved from 92.5% in April to 96.5% in June (p<0.001). The specific qualitative effects listed below were among those mentioned in reports compiled from meetings. 1) Improvement of patients' and pharmacists' awareness regarding dispensing error prevention, 2) Increase in patients' interest in, and understanding of, their own prescription medications, 3) Increase in patients' understanding about the efforts and in number of patients cooperating with the effort.
