Abstract
To improve the adherence to and knowledge about pharmacotherapy in outpatients and to maximize the efficacy and minimize the adverse drug events, the first pharmacist-managed clinic (PMC) in Japan was established for anticoagulation therapy at Nagoya University Hospital in 2000. Since then, various PMCs such as for asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Alzheimer’s disease, hypercholesterolemia, chronic hepatitis C, cancer chemotherapy, palliative care, chronic kidney disease, and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis have been established and expanded to many hospitals in Japan. Accumulating evidences suggest that PMCs have some beneficial effects on patients’ adherence to and knowledge about their pharmacotherapy as well as the clinical outcome, besides being cost-effective. Notably, PMCs for cancer chemotherapy have been approved as a new medical service in hospitals in 2014, which is covered by the universal health coverage in Japan. In this review article, the current status of PMCs for patient education and counseling in Japan and their impact on pharmaceutical care and management are critically reviewed. Furthermore, future perspectives on PMCs are discussed.
Highlights
Pharmacists can contribute to positive outcomes of pharmacotherapy by educating and counseling patients to prepare and motivate them to follow their pharmacotherapeutic regimens and monitoring plans
pharmacist-managed clinic (PMC) for cancer chemotherapy have been approved as a new medical service in hospitals in 2014, and are covered by the universal coverage in Japan, if certified oncology pharmacists, in agreement with physicians, conduct patient education and counseling about cancer chemotherapy with the consent of patients
By using the time in the therapeutic range as a measure of the quality of treatment [60], we reported that the internet-based PMC in combination with self-monitoring of prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR) may be safe and effective for pharmacotherapy management of anticoagulation therapy in high-risk patients with potential drugdrug interactions [58,59]
Summary
Pharmacists can contribute to positive outcomes of pharmacotherapy by educating and counseling patients to prepare and motivate them to follow their pharmacotherapeutic regimens and monitoring plans. Yamada and Nabeshima Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Care and Sciences (2015) 1:2 pharmacists in appropriate drug use” (PI: Toshitaka Nabeshima), which was supported by a Health Labour Science Research Grant (H10-Iyaku-068, 1998–2000) from the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare of Japan, played an indispensable role in the introduction and development of pharmacist-managed clinics (PMCs) for patient education and counseling in Japan In this 3-year program, 10 Japanese pharmacists studied abroad to see clinical pharmacy practices in the United States, and 8 visiting clinical pharmacists from foreign countries introduced PMCs and other pharmacy services, as well as pharmacy education, to Japan [35,36]. We operate 7 PMCs at Nagoya University Hospital, such as for anticoagulation therapy, asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), donepezil outpatient consultation service (DOCS), palliative care, chronic kidney
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