“Pharmacy 3.0” and the Meaning of Vital Signs for Pharmacists

Abstract

In Japan, the proportion of elderly people had reached up to 23% in 2009. The number of elderly people in long-term nursing homes or nursing facilities will increase in the next decade. By 2025, the majority of the elderly people would have developed cancer, stroke, cardio-vascular diseases, and dementia. Almost all of them would be treated with prescribed drugs. They would also have dysphagia and have difficulties in remembering their medications in the long term. Therefore, for the benefit of such a community, the work force, especially in the field of drug distribution, will need to be increased to prevent the incidence of patients who forget to take their medications. Further, the educational curriculum for pharmaceutical students has been changed to a new version, and some Japanese pharmacy shops have been switching over to "Pharmacy 3.0," which is the next generation model. In this pharmacy, the pharmacists will play an additional new role; they will not only dispense drugs but also support home recuperation leveraging some vital signs and physical assessments. In my opinion, this novel scheme of medical service developed with pharmacists playing this new role may be a boon to the patient/elderly community in Japan who are facing the collapse of healthcare systems. In conclusion, Collaborative Drug Therapy Management (CDTM) in the practice of the pharmacists is essential for increasing the efficiency of the Japanese healthcare systems.