Assessment of the potential impact of resolving drug-related problems by clinical pharmacists in Japan: a retrospective observational study

Abstract

Background Clinical pharmacists play a role in limiting the disadvantages of pharmacotherapy for patients by detecting and resolving drug-related problems (DRPs) through medication reviews. Although their contributions to patient care have been analyzed and understood in various countries, the role of Japanese clinical pharmacists in this context remains to be clearly elucidated. Thus, in this study, we aimed to elucidate the detection of DRPs by clinical pharmacists and determine the potential impact of pharmacist interventions in Japan. Methods This study was conducted in a 273-bed hospital and targeted hospitalized patients over a period of 6 months. DRPs detected by clinical pharmacists during the study period were investigated and classified into 10 types. Furthermore, medications were categorized according to the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification. A review committee consisting of two pharmacists independently reviewed the pharmacist interventions on a six-point scale (extremely significant, very significant, significant, somewhat significant, no significance, adverse significance) according to the potential impact on patient care. Results During the study period, 1711 patients (mean age: 71.2 years, 54.1% male) were included, and 2149 DRPs were detected (1.26 DRPs/patient). Pharmacists intervened in all the DRPs detected. The most common DRP was supratherapeutic dosage (19.3%), followed by untreated indication (18.1%). The most common medication classification causing DRPs was “Antiinfectives for Systemic Use” (25.1%), followed by “Alimentary Tract and Metabolism” (19.9%). Most of the pharmacist interventions (99.6%) were rated “somewhat significant” or more significant, of which 1.1% were rated “extremely significant,” and none were rated as “adverse significance.” Conclusions Our results show that in Japan, as in other countries, clinical pharmacists detect and resolve DRPs in hospitalized patients through medication review. Our findings also show that clinical pharmacists have a positive impact on patient care and suggest the need for their involvement.

Improving Antibiotic Use in Surgical Care: Impact of Clinical Pharmacist Interventions on Optimizing Patient Therapy

“…The acceptance rate of pharmacist interventions was 99%, and as a result, there was a change in https://www.indjst.org/ drug therapy as per pharmacist recommendations. This acceptance rate was higher than in previous studies in China, Ethiopia, Japan, and Turkey (1,(14)(15)(16) . This might be due to a well-established clinical pharmacy facility with a full-time clinical pharmacist exclusively dedicated to the Surgery ward to provide clinical pharmacy services at the bedside as tailored recommendations in real-time by considering the patient's condition and closely associating and understanding the various concerns of surgeons.…”