Evaluation of new reimbursement fee for care of pharmacists in Japan

Abstract

There were so many criticisms of the pharmacy services that were reimbursed from the National Health Services in Japan In order to overcome to this criticism and endorse the pharmacies and pharmacists to play pivotal functions in Japanese aging society the Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare MHLW published ldquo Pharmacy Vision for Patients rdquo and introduced the Your Pharmacist Reimbursed Program On October of the MHLW published ldquo Pharmacy Vision for Patients rdquo The vision endorsed that pharmacist dispenses the patient medications unitarily according to all of the patient prescriptions from every hospitals and clinics On the revision of reimbursement program in which included establish the new reimbursement fee ldquo Your Pharmacist Reimbursed Program ldquo was conducted in order to make the vision would be put into practice These actions have given tremendous impact for Japanese pharmacists and pharmacies In this manuscript we introduced the YPRP and evaluate the impact of YPRP that affect the care of pharmacists and behavior of patients using the public data from Central Social Insurance Medical Council which is the government council body organizing the Japanese medical insurance program Introducing the YPRP has seen that relationship between pharmacists and patients have been closer and improved and also pharmacists could provide medication therapy management to the patients continuously and exclusively While for patients change in consciousness has been founded that expectation for family pharmacists is growing that family pharmacists could observe all taken medications for each patient It seems that the YPRP gave good effect and impact to the medication therapy in Japan The MHLW has announced the new policies to enhanced pharmacists pharmacies to play the pivotal role for medication therapy management of patients in Japanese aging society Japanese pharmacies pharmacists have to change the function and role of pharmacy to meet patient needs and demands from public society with using the new policies which is introduced by the MHLW Furthermore pharmacies pharmacists have to use the newly established YPRP in careful manner and improve the satisfaction of patients and then pharmacies pharmacists have to step up to the next stage to adapt to the progressive aging society by expanding and developing the YPRP