Survey Regarding the Actual Use of Two-Dimensional Symbols Containing Prescription Information in Fukui Prefecture

Hiroshi Yamamoto; Ryoichi Yano; Akiko Saiki; Kyosuke Tajima; Aimi Iwasaki; Miyuki Uno; Toshiaki Igarashi; Kyohei Watanabe; Takaaki Kodawara; Hitoshi Tsukamoto; Nobuyuki Goto

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Survey Regarding the Actual Use of Two-Dimensional Symbols Containing Prescription Information in Fukui Prefecture

VernacularTitle:福井県内の保険薬局における処方情報を格納した 2 次元シンボルの活用状況
Author: Hiroshi YAMAMOTO ¹ ; Ryoichi YANO ² ; Akiko SAIKI ¹ ; Kyosuke TAJIMA ¹ ; Aimi IWASAKI ¹ ; Miyuki UNO ¹ ; Toshiaki IGARASHI ¹ ; Kyohei WATANABE ¹ ; Takaaki KODAWARA ³ ; Hitoshi TSUKAMOTO ¹ ; Nobuyuki GOTO ¹
Author Information

1. Department of Pharmacy, University of Fukui Hospital
2. Education and Research Center for Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University
3. Medical Research Support Center, Universityof Fukui Hospital
Keywords: 2D symbols; QR code; JAHIS
From:Japanese Journal of Drug Informatics 2022;24(3):166-172
CountryJapan
Language:Japanese
Abstract: Objective: Two types of symbols have been established as industry standards in terms of two-dimensional (2D) symbols with prescription information: one for objects to be printed on prescriptions and the other for electronic versions of medication diaries. However, no studies have investigated the system for using 2D symbols in pharmacies and hospitals/clinics as well as the quality of the information actually stored in these 2D symbols. Therefore, we conducted a survey to clarify the current status and problems pertaining to prescription information sharing via 2D symbols.Methods: We distributed questionnaires to community pharmacies through the Fukui Pharmaceutical Association and asked them to cooperate with us during the survey. The list of items in the survey　included the installation status of devices necessary for reading 2D symbols at each pharmacy, receipt computer in use, and status of the support issued by hospitals/clinics for reading 2D symbols. At the same time, we received 2D symbols created by community pharmacies and conducted reading tests to examine issues related to the collection of prescription information via 2D symbols at medical institutions.Results: The response rate for the survey was 21.8%. Among the 57 stores that responded to the survey, 26 (45.6%) answered that they could read prescription symbols, and 22 of them had actually used the system till date. In addition, 38 community pharmacies were able to provide the 2D symbols for medication diaries. Of the 30 provided symbols for medication diaries, 16 (53.3%) could be read as Japanese data by the barcode reader used.Conclusions: It has become clear that the 2D symbols with stored prescription information are not being completely utilized at present, as both community pharmacies and hospitals/clinics face several issues such as hardware maintenance, software updates, and time and effort required for the usage.