Utilizing a non-pharmacist “co-pharmaceutical staff (CPS)” and mechanization and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is critical for pharmacists to focus on their primary role, i.e., checking effects/side effects after taking medications. If the CPSs efficiency is improved, it can help the pharmacists focus on their primary role. To our knowledge, no prior studies have examined the amount of time CPSs spend on preparing the prescription medicines, and the effect of mechanization and ICT on the efficiency of CPSs. CPSs in Hazama Pharmacy (Osaka, Japan) work together with pharmacists to prepare prescription medicines per the notice (No.0402-1 dated April 2, 2019) from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. In this study, we evaluated the time spent on the different tasks of preparing prescription medicines by the CPSs such as entry of patients' information and contents of prescriptions, checking dispensing records, picking tablets, one-dose packaging, and packed-tablet inspection. The results showed that 71.4% of the total task time was spent on preparing one-dose packaging and packed-tablet inspection. We analyzed the effect of increasing the number of tablet cassettes in a fully-automatic tablet packing machine and introducing a packed-tablet inspection machine. It was found that they reduced the time spent by 12.8 and 43.1%, respectively. Our study concludes that to establish an environment in which pharmacists can concentrate on their primary role it is necessary to transfer the tasks that do not require pharmaceutical knowledge to CPSs, and utilize mechanization and ICT.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare is promoting a “Community Care Conference” as a method to establish the Integrated Community Care System. In Ise-city, the “Ise-city Life Support Conference”, a self-reliance-type Community Care Conference is held, where professionals provide regular advice to individuals who require life support (hereafter referred to as “participants”). In this study, to understand the condition of the participants, we retrospectively investigated and analyzed the assessment results of the participants using the care prevention assessment sheet at the Ise-city Life Support Conference from April 2022 to March 2023. A total of 213 participants were targeted during the survey period, and the analysis revealed the characteristics of those with poor evaluations. First, there was a decrease in independence in daily life due to deteriorated nutritional status and physical functions. Second, there were symptoms similar to those of late-life depression, indicating a mentally unstable condition. These results suggest that a focus on lifestyle, psychological aspects, and the quality of daily activities in the independence of participants' health can contribute to maintaining and improving their quality of life. In the life support conference, advice from pharmacists, considering nutritional aspects, physical functions, and mental states, could further support the independence of the participants.

It is important for pharmacists not only to improve medication adherence, but also to understand each patient's overall picture, including the patient's condition and living environment, in the context of multidisciplinary collaboration. In addition, pharmacists are required to link the appropriate use of medications with information obtained through physical assessments that appropriately utilize vital signs and clinical laboratory values. In this article, we introduce contents related to the “knowledge”, “skills”, and “attitude” required for certification as a pharmacist certified to support home care, as well as how to compile a case study of home care support for oneself. We hope that this will help many pharmacists to become certified.

Supporting for drug treatment at home by pharmacist is expected to lead to safer and more effective medical care. It is also attracting attention in terms of reducing the burden on each professions and medical costs. This report is about pharmacist home visit for medication therapy support. It is not about only delivering various medicines but about the benefits of pharmacists working with multiple professions to support home health care. I will share practical matters such as (1) preparation before visiting the patient's home, (2) observation at the patient's home, and (3) post-visit follow-up on after medication.