Objective : Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a disease treated by polytherapy. This time, the authors report the role of pharmacists in one of the few Parkinson’s disease facilities in Japan (https://sunwels.jp/pdhouse/; abbreviated as PD House), which was born from the voices of PD patients. Methods : The backgrounds of 52 patients admitted to the PD House and prescriptions for them were analyzed to mainly clarify: the percentages of patients aged 75 or over and those using 7 or more prescribed drugs; and frequently used drugs to be carefully administered to the elderly. The approaches provided by pharmacists through interprofessional collaboration were also analyzed. Results : The percentages of patients aged 75 or over and those receiving benefits for individuals requiring care were 71.2 and 92.3%, respectively. Those using 7 or more prescribed drugs accounted for 75.0%. In multidisciplinary collaboration, pharmacists were involved in not only pharmacotherapy but also nutritional evaluation of patients with severe nutritional disorders, proposal of appropriate nutritional therapy, understanding of swallowing function, and appropriate medication teaching. Conclusion : The actual situation of PD patients, where they used multiple drugs, and their backgrounds suggest that interprofessional collaboration is indispensable for PD treatment, and the roles of pharmacists were shown to be important.

The number of heated tobacco product users is increasing rapidly in Japan; thus, smoking prevention education that includes heated tobacco products is necessary. To clarify the current status and issues related to smoking prevention education programs for school pharmacists, a questionnaire survey was conducted among 300 school pharmacists. The response rate was 45.3% (136/300). Smoking prevention education was provided by 42.6% (58/136) of school pharmacists. Among them, 56.9% (33/58) included heated tobacco products in their education programs. Moreover, 75.9% (44/58) of pharmacists also provided support for smoking cessation at pharmacies, and 93.1% (54/58) of pharmacists felt the necessity of providing support for smoking cessation for heated tobacco product users at pharmacies. On the other hand, 21.8% (17/78) of school pharmacists who did not provide smoking prevention education responded that they did not have sufficient information and knowledge about heated tobacco products. In addition, among these pharmacists, 53.8% (42/78) did not provide support for smoking cessation at pharmacies. Although both groups felt the need for the smoking prevention education provided by school pharmacists, the school pharmacists who provided such education felt the need more strongly. Regarding the necessity of including the taking up of heated tobacco products in smoking prevention education, it was found that pharmacists who provided such programs felt the necessity more strongly. It is important to obtain accurate information about heated tobacco products and change the content to unified educational in cooperation with schoolteachers to enhance smoking prevention education by school pharmacists.

In order to utilize the results of genetic tests for mental and behavioral changes aimed at disease prevention, it is important to acquire the right knowledge about genetic information. Learning the basics of genetic testing and information at school may help in taking adequate precautions against illness. In this study, to improve the knowledge on central dogma (flow of genetic information) and mutation, which are the basics of genetic testing, among children in the upper grades of elementary school, we devised an illustrative video and conducted educational activities through a test-linked illustrative video lecture (TLIV lecture). In addition, the degree of comprehension and the effectiveness of the TLIV lecture were evaluated using tests conducted before and after the lecture. Both fifth and sixth graders showed a low level of comprehension (50 points or less) before the lecture. On performing the same test after the TLIV lecture, both groups showed a high degree of understanding (65 points or more), a significant increase. From the above results, it was shown that the TLIV lecture that we devised could be used as an effective tool for improving knowledge on the above-mentioned content for fifth graders and above.

As a screening tool for detecting latent pre-locomotive syndrome (latent pre-LS) in women over the age of 40, measuring handgrip strength with a cut-off value of 26 kg was proposed in a previous report. However, this screening method missed 22% of latent pre-LS. It would be beneficial to screen almost persons with latent pre-LS in community pharmacies. In this study, it was investigated whether screening using the combination of measuring handgrip strength and the questionnaire, “Loco-check,” which was proposed by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association, improved the detection of latent pre-LS in the same group mentioned above. Combining only one of the “Loco-check” questions, “I cannot put on a pair of socks while standing on one leg,” with the measurement of handgrip strength with the cut-off value of 26 kg, the detection of latent pre-LS was increased to 90.2%. The odds ratio was 9.72 in logistic regression analysis. Using the combination of the measurement of handgrip strength and the response to one question is both rapid and convenient. Therefore, in this study, this screening combination is proposed to be a useful tool in community pharmacies for detecting early latent pre-LS.

Excessive drinking causes of social problems and economic loss, and has adverse physical and mental effects. If the gene polymorphism of aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH2), an important enzyme in the degradation of alcohol, is known, it is possible to avoid drinking alcohol to a level that exceeds its decomposition ability and prevent adverse physical and social effects. In the future, pharmacy students will contribute to improving the health of local residents as pharmacists; therefore, it is necessary for them to understand alcohol metabolism and related problems. In this study, we investigated the degree of understanding of alcohol degradation pathways, related enzymes, and polymorphisms among second- and third-year pharmacy students in their twenties before and after watching a test-linked video lecture on the subject. Third-year students (61.3 points) scored higher than second-year students (45.7 points) on average due to the learning effect. However, both the second- and third-year students did not show a high level of comprehension before the lecture. After the video lecture related to the test was shown to students, the same test was performed again. Comparing the test scores before and after the video lecture, both the second- and third-year students demonstrated a higher average score (86.1 and 93.3 points, respectively), a significant increase. From these data, it was proved that the test-linked video lecture we created could be used as an effective tool by pharmacy students to understand alcohol metabolism in a short time.

Objective : Recently, a directive that all pharmacies should have a family pharmacist by 2025 was announced. However, this directive has not been clearly communicated to patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of patient information handouts on the number of patients who use the new family pharmacist system, using the evaluation index of family pharmacies (Key Performance Indicator [KPI]). Methods : We created and distributed patient handouts about family pharmacists. The number of new family pharmacists, the number of consultations, and the consultation content from June-August 2021 (pre-distribution period) and September-November 2021 (distribution period) were examined to compare the KPI group and non-KPI group. A cutoff score of the KPI index was used to determine compliant vs. non-compliant. Results : The median (interquartile range) number of new patients in the KPI group (7 pharmacies) increased from 0 (0.0, 1.5) in the pre-distribution period to 4 (2.5, 10.5) in the distribution period (P＝0.019). In the non-KPI group (4 pharmacies) it was 0 (0.0, 0.0) both before and after distribution. The number of consultations about unused prescribed medications and health increased (P＝0.031 and 0.047, respectively) in the KPI group during the distribution period, with no change in the non-KPI group. Conclusion : The use of handouts led to an increase in users of the family pharmacist system in the KPI group. The use of handouts at KPI pharmacies will help patients understand the pharmacist profession and the benefits of the family pharmacist system.

The importance of promoting self-medication is increasing, and the active participation of pharmacies is required to support this. We developed a training program based on the Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction (ARCS) model, which is a motivational design process to train pharmacists who support the proper use of OTC drugs, and for insurance pharmacists who usually perform dispensing work. In the six months of training, we conducted six sessions for insurance pharmacists on the subject of colds and constipation. In addition to conducting lectures and exercises on OTC drugs, we provided pharmacists with an opportunity to practice the training content during their daily work, and discuss solutions to the problems that they encountered. Of the eight participants who attended all workshops and were part of the final evaluation, seven provided OTC drugs after considering whether it was necessary to provide them. A total of six advised patients who came to the pharmacy to have their prescription medications dispensed that there were OTC medications that they should be careful about taking. These results suggest the usefulness of this training program based on the ARCS motivational design model.

The preliminary trial began with the exchange of reports between pharmacy pharmacists and nurses from home-visit nursing stations in Tempaku-ku, Nagoya-city, and then the collection of survey results to investigate the transition of mutual credibility, opinions on maintaining alignments, and the effect of collaboration. It was established that there were distinct viewpoints based on professions, even when the cases belonged to the same category in the sharing reports. For instance, in terms of pharmacotherapy, the reports by pharmacists were focused on suggesting pharmaceutical management such as left-over medicines or prescriptions, whereas the reports by nurses were targeted on how to finish up all prescribed medicines and described more vital signs, treatments, and cognitive ability in the category of symptom. In the survey results, 86.7% of the respondents answered that sharing information between pharmacists and nurses should strengthen the synergistic effect. It was suggested that the working relationship between pharmacists and nurses would develop by sharing information with each other. And, ultimately, each pharmacist’s and nurse’s viewpoint will be expected to play a significant role in providing a stronger support for an ideal life according to the patient’s will, fostering a very intense relationship across different professions alongside all assessments and proposals based on expertise, and improving the quality of each work.

Advances in information and communication technology (ICT)-especially, the spread of social networking services (SNSs)-have facilitated the dissemination of information and an explosion of health information lacking scientific evidence. Therefore, we believe that community pharmacies are the most suitable bases for distributing health information. In 2019, we launched the health support pharmacy “Toyonaka Model” in collaboration with the pharmaceutical association, municipal government, and university. Touch-panel digital signage (DS) was used for real-time distribution of ever-changing information and a rapid grasp of pharmacy users’ responses to various types of information. Between September 2019 and August 2021, one DS was installed in a pharmacy in each of Toyonaka City’s seven areas along with 14 questions on the usefulness of the delivered information. Respondents answered the 14 questions by a tablet or questionnaire; touch logs for DS were collected. When a pharmacy user consulted with a pharmacist about information delivered via DS, the contents were recorded and described by the pharmacist on a 4-point scale (e.g., “inquiry only,” “went through to execution”). From the 850 completed questionnaires and 61,565 touches, 88.7% of the respondents indicated that the information was useful, and 90.0% expressed interest in receiving more health information in the future. Thus, health information provided by DS may be useful to pharmacy users, as demonstrated by 113 cases in which the pharmacist was consulted regarding such information. In 62 of these cases, there were indications that the DS information might have influenced users’ behavior and intended actions.