1.Perception Gap between Patients and Healthcare Professionals in Press-Through Package Appearance of Generic Drug
Hitoshi Takahashi ; Hirofumi Tamaki ; Hiroki Satoh ; Yasufumi Sawada
Japanese Journal of Drug Informatics 2017;19(2):43-49
Objective: Generic drugs similar in appearance to their brand-name counterparts have both advantages and disadvantages. This study aimed to investigate patient preferences regarding the appearance of generic drugs.
Design: A cross-sectional survey.
Methods: We conducted a web-based survey between 2013 and 2014. Patients aged ≥40 years who reported taking prescription drugs for >6 months were asked to provide their opinions on the appearance of generic drug formulations and press-through packages (PTPs). Medical doctors and pharmacists were asked as to what type of appearance of generic drugs would be suitable as well as whether the appearance of these drugs and PTPs should be similar to that of their brand-name counterparts.
Results: A total of 911 patients, 238 pharmacists, and 81 medical doctors responded to the survey. Most of the patients (45.3%) surveyed reported that the similarity in the appearance of generic drug formulations and PTPs to those of their brand-name counterparts was not important, whereas only 15.6% of patients preferred generic drug formulations and PTPs similar in appearance to their brand-name counterparts. In contrast, most of the medical doctors (53.1%) and pharmacists (88.2%) reported that the appearance of generic drug formulations and PTPs should be similar to that of their brand-name counterparts.
Conclusion: Patients’ opinions on the appearance of generic drugs differ from what medical doctors and pharmacists perceive them to be. Therefore, health care professionals should select generic drugs with an appearance as per the individual patient’s preference.
2.Verification of the Effectiveness of the Health Support Pharmacy “Toyonaka Model,” an Industry-Government-Academia Collaboration Project Aiming to Promote Community Health through the Information from Community Pharmacies via Digital Signages
Tamaki SAWADA ; Kazuyuki NIKI ; Nichika ONISHI ; Kozo TADA ; Akiyo NISHIDA ; Koji DOHI ; Takashi KOZAI ; Yaeko OKUDA ; Yukiji MORIKAWA ; Takehiko MAE ; Mitsuyo KUROKI ; Yumi TAKAOKA ; Taro MATSUOKA ; Yasuhiro ASHIDA ; Kenji IKEDA ; Mikiko UEDA
Japanese Journal of Social Pharmacy 2022;41(2):175-186
Advances in information and communication technology (ICT)-especially, the spread of social networking services (SNSs)-have facilitated the dissemination of information and an explosion of health information lacking scientific evidence. Therefore, we believe that community pharmacies are the most suitable bases for distributing health information. In 2019, we launched the health support pharmacy “Toyonaka Model” in collaboration with the pharmaceutical association, municipal government, and university. Touch-panel digital signage (DS) was used for real-time distribution of ever-changing information and a rapid grasp of pharmacy users’ responses to various types of information. Between September 2019 and August 2021, one DS was installed in a pharmacy in each of Toyonaka City’s seven areas along with 14 questions on the usefulness of the delivered information. Respondents answered the 14 questions by a tablet or questionnaire; touch logs for DS were collected. When a pharmacy user consulted with a pharmacist about information delivered via DS, the contents were recorded and described by the pharmacist on a 4-point scale (e.g., “inquiry only,” “went through to execution”). From the 850 completed questionnaires and 61,565 touches, 88.7% of the respondents indicated that the information was useful, and 90.0% expressed interest in receiving more health information in the future. Thus, health information provided by DS may be useful to pharmacy users, as demonstrated by 113 cases in which the pharmacist was consulted regarding such information. In 62 of these cases, there were indications that the DS information might have influenced users’ behavior and intended actions.