How Patient-Pharmacist Communication Using the Drug Profile Book Relates to Patient's Behavior regarding Its Use

Abstract

This survey aimed to examine how patient-pharmacist communication using the drug proˆle book relates patient's behavior regarding its use. Among patients who visited one of theˆve pharmacies during the 4 months between July and October of 2013, 245 patients who had been prescribed antihypertensives were asked to complete a questionnaire. Items included patient attributes, whether the patient thought the drug proˆle book was useful to them (``sense of utility''), whether the patient has ever been questioned by a pharmacist while showing the drug proˆle book (``experience of being questioned by a pharmacist while showing the drug proˆle book''), and whether the patient has ever shown the drug proˆle book to the physician (``experience of showing the drug proˆle book to the physician''). In addition, pharmacists counted the frequency of patients bringing the drug proˆle book, and if so, the frequency of the sticker a‹x during the last 5 visits. 34.3％ of responding patients answered that they had the``experience of being questioned while showing the drug proˆle book''. Response rates of``frequency of bringing the drug proˆle book'',``sense of utility'', and``experience of showing the drug proˆle book to the physician'' in the group with``experience of being questioned while showing the drug proˆle book'' were signiˆcantly higher than those in the group without such experience. This survey indicated that experience of being questioned by a pharmacist while showing the drug proˆle book related patient's behavior regarding its use.

Factors Associated with Self-reported Medication Adherence in Japanese Community-dwelling Elderly Individuals: The Nakajima Study

“…It has been reported that patient-pharmacist communication resulting from the use of drug proˆle books has led to improvements in patients' medication awareness and behavior. 41) In addition, previous research has suggested that medication adherence improves when pharmacists su‹ciently explain medications through counseling. 42) Therefore, intervention by pharmacists, such as using drug proˆle books, could have a positive eŠect on medication adherence in elderly participants.…”

Creation and validation of a semi-quantitative instrument to assess the confidence of pharmacists in medication consultation for patients with depression: The Pharmacists' Confidence scale about Medication Consultation for Depressive patients (PCMCD)

“…The lack of sufficient information about the medical condition of their clients may prevent pharmacists in Japan from being confidently involved in depression care. Currently, the Japanese health care system is encouraging patients to bring their drug profile book to the pharmacy when they purchase prescription drugs, and its use contributes to preventing redundant prescriptions and possible drug interactions 43,44. This and other tools may help community pharmacists gain information on the comorbid conditions of their clients and become actively involved in depression care.…”

Effect on Patient Safety of Brief Interventions Performed by Pharmacists via Drug Profile Books: VISualization of Treatment Assist by pharmacists (VISTA) Project in Japan

“…The main purpose for using a DPB in routine medical care is to prevent duplicate medications and drug interactions before they happen and to avoid adverse drug reactions. With each patient's agreement, the pharmacist issues him or her with a DPB in which information is accumulated about the drugs the patient has been prescribed by affixing "the sticker" in the book, mainly carrying details about prescriptions dispensed by pharmacies [5]. When receiving treatment by a medical institution, the patient brings the DPB and presents it to the physician and pharmacist, and the physician can take action at that time based on the DPB information.…”

“…As a result, it became clear that the patients' rate of bringing the DPB to their pharmacy (rate of bringing the DPB) was correlated to the patients' recognition of the role and sense of utility [9]. In addition, patients with experience of having been questioned by a pharmacist while looking at the DPB are known to have a higher rate of bringing the DPB, recognition of the role, sense of utility, and experience of showing the DPB to the physician [5]. However, because these empirical studies had a cross-sectional design, it was difficult to verify the effect of communication via DPBs.…”