Objective: The learning system "KimBen pharma" was introduced into pharmacy education at Okayama University to improve the quality of pharmacy education in accordance with the revision of the Model Core Curriculum for Pharmacy Education.Methods: In this study, we conducted a questionnaire survey of third- to fifth-year pharmacy students as of 2023 to investigate their satisfaction with the learning system and survey on students' awareness following its introduction.Results: Overall, 79% of the students accorded a score of 4 or higher for the item "satisfaction with using KimBen pharma." In addition, 95.2 and 91.9% of the students scored 4 or higher in the "I could feel the clinical pharmacist's point of view" and "I could imagine that what I learned at the university would be useful in the clinical setting" sections, respectively.Conclusion: Pharmacy education using KimBen pharma is highly satisfactory for students, and the system is considered a desirable educational tool across all grade levels from third to fifth year. Additionally, "KimBen pharma" helps students understand the perspective of pharmacists in clinical settings and assists them in concretely visualizing how the content learned at university can be applied in real-world clinical practice.

Objective: To prevent the mis-prescription of drugs that differs from the true intention, it is important to understand the factors underlying mis-prescription. In this study, we focused on drug prescription errors caused by drug name similarities and compared drug dispensing errors by pharmacists to clarify their characteristics.Methods: We extracted cases of drug prescription and dispensing errors caused by drug name similarity from "near-miss events from pharmacies" reported from March 2020 to October 2022, which were curated by the Japan Council for Quality Health Care. By comparing the characteristics of pairs of "drugs intended to be prescribed or dispensed" and "drugs that were mis-prescribed or misdispensed" (called as drug name pairs), we analyzed trends in drug prescription errors caused by drug name similarity. Specifically, we evaluated drug name similarity (calculated using m2-Visually Weighted Head and Tail-weighted Fragmentary Pattern-Based Measure; m2-vwhtfrag), the number of initial common characters, and drug efficacy similarity (evaluated by drug efficacy classification number) in drug name pairs and assessed their occurrence among drug prescribing and dispensing error cases.Results: From the "near-miss events from pharmacies," 234 cases of prescription errors and 152 cases of dispensing errors caused by drug name similarity were extracted. Drug prescription errors exhibited higher drug name similarity (i.e., higher values of m2-vwhtfrag) and more initial common characteristics than drug dispensing errors. In contrast, drug prescription errors showed a lower consistency in drug efficacy similarity.Conclusion: In this study, we found that prescription errors by physicians were more likely to be influenced by drug name similarity and less likely to be influenced by drug efficacy similarity compared to the dispensing errors by pharmacists. These findings are reasonable, considering the characteristics of the prescription ordering systems.

Background: This study surveyed pharmacists registered with the Yamaguchi Prefectural Pharmacists Association to determine the key elements of tablet printing design that enhance visibility and distinguishability during dispensing.Objectives: The purpose of this study is to identify suitable design components for tablets that enhance visibility and distinguishability by utilizing text data.Methods: Given the high risk of medication errors due to similar-looking tablets, the study employed KH Coder for text mining analysis of free-text responses.Results: Results indicated that design elements such as "horizontal writing," "straight lines, " and "emphasis on characters" significantly improve visibility and distinguishability, particularly for similar-looking tablets. The findings from this study provide specific guidelines for optimal tablet design, aiming to improve pharmacists' efficiency and enhance medication safety.Conclusions: KH Coder proved to be a valuable tool for analyzing qualitative data in the medical field. While the study focused on pharmacists in Yamaguchi Prefecture, expanding the survey to a national scale is recommended to validate and generalize the findings. This research supports the development of standardized tablet designs that can minimize dispensing errors and ensure patient safety, highlighting the importance of effective tablet printing design in pharmaceutical practice.

Objective: Of the total number of prescriptions received, the percentage of refill prescriptions in May-June 2022 was 0.053%. In order to speculate on the reasons for the low utilization rate of the refill system and future developments, we surveyed patients who have been receiving continuous drug treatment for more than 6 months to determine their attitudes toward the refill system.Methods: The survey was conducted on the Web and valid responses were obtained from 290 respondents.Results: The respondents were 44.8% male and 55.2% female, with a mean age of 45.6 ± 10.5 years. Respondents' diseases included hypertension (32.1%), dyslipidemia (15.9%), diabetes (15.2%), psychiatric diseases (10.0%), skin diseases (9.3%), and others. Of the respondents, 83.4% had no prescription change within 6 months, and 69.0% had access to treatment medications for the purpose of going to the hospital, indicating that their symptoms were stable and they could use the refill system. In addition, we found that only 17.2% were aware of the refill system. However, 73.4% of respondents indicated their intention to use the refill system in the future. Therefore, our results strongly suggest that the reason for the lack of its use is due to a lack of awareness of it.Conclusion: It is expected that the refill system will be promoted in the future through awareness-raising events and education of the public. It is thought that the use of the refill system may cause delays in the detection of adverse drug reactions and the overlooking of worsening health conditions. The issue is whether pharmacists can appropriately judge whether or not to continue refill prescriptions.

Objective: The Immunization Health Damage Relief Program was established to provide "prompt and wide-ranging" relief for health damage caused by routine vaccination.Methods: In this study, utilizing the report of the Subcommittee on Infectious Diseases and Immunization, we investigated the relief status of persons who received the new coronavirus vaccine. The study period was three years, from 2021 to 2023, and the number of cases accepted, the number of certifications, the number of denials, and the number of delays were analyzed.Results: Most of the claims were for medical expenses and medical benefits, and the remaining claims were for lump-sum death benefits and funeral expenses. The approval rate was 84.9%, and the denial rate was 14.1%. The scrutiny rate was less than 30% since July 2022, but with the establishment of a new study group on January 2023, the rate rose to approximately 70%. Initially, none of the lump-sum death payments were approved, but later the approval rate increased, and there was a period when almost all the lump-sum death payments were approved.Conclusions: The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) is responding as quickly as possible to the increasing number of applications, but the number of health relief applications is unprecedented in the history of vaccines. For the victims and their families, the situation does not appear to be satisfactory.

Objective: The delivery of medicines by the postal service from pharmacies to patients' homes has increased to address medicine supply shortages. However, owing to recent abnormal weather conditions, medicines may be delivered in harsh environments exceeding 40℃. Therefore, this study aimed to measure the temperature at which medicines were mailed in the summer and investigate whether the interview form contained evidence that could guarantee the quality of the medicines mailed under those temperature conditions.Methods: Between August 5 and September 11, 2024, medicines were mailed from 15 postbox locations using a service provided by the Japan Post. The mailing environment was assessed via mean kinetic temperature (MKT) with reference to the United States Pharmacopeia (USP). The medicines in shortage were identified based on information published by the Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association.Results: Approximately 87.5% of the medicines mailed had an MKT above 25℃ (maximum 28.0℃), which deviates from the USP standard. Some medicines temporarily reached a maximum temperature of 47.5℃. Moreover, the results of the stress tests at temperatures above 40℃ were not listed in the interview form for 78.3% of the medicines that were likely to be mailed due to inventory shortages.Conclusion: To guarantee the medicines quality when mailed in the summer, it is important to consider appropriate measures to protect medicines from excessive heat, even medicines stored at room temperature. Furthermore, it is important to assess the medicine stability by referring to the stress tests (50℃) results listed on the interview forms for the product in question and the original and longlisted drugs. To resolve dissatisfaction between pharmacies and patients due to supply instability, it is necessary to actively publish the results of stress tests on interview forms and make appropriate efforts.

Objective: This study aimed to elucidate how the physical properties of containers and formulations of glaucoma eyedrops contribute to differences in squeezing force and drop volume among products within the same pharmacological class. This study seeks to generate valuable insights for product selection, patient guidance, and formulation improvement.Design: Physical measurements of multiple glaucoma eyedrop products were made under various conditions, followed by comparative analyses of the data and the characteristics of each product's container and solution. The study determined how the product selection and instillation technique affected the squeezing force and drop volume.Methods: Eyedrop products commonly used as first-line treatments were evaluated, including all brand-name drugs and high-usage generic drugs. Based on the clinical guidelines and NDB open data, 17 products were selected, consisting of prostanoid receptor-related drugs and beta blockers. Each product was tested at various angles to measure squeezing force and drop volume. These measurements were combined with basic container characteristics, including the material, design, and size, to compare and identify trends. Multivariate regression analysis was conducted to examine the factors affecting squeezing force.Results: The squeezing force varied significantly among the products (0. 68-1. 57 times the average), whereas the drop volume exhibited relatively minor differences (0.79-1.12 times the average). Some products showed marked variability in squeezing force and drop volume between drops, depending on residual volume and container angle. Additionally, containers with smaller finger-contact areas, made of materials other than polyethylene, non-cylindrical designs, and formulations with higher viscosity were estimated to require greater squeezing force.Conclusion: Squeezing force and drop volume vary significantly by product and instillation technique, which highlights the importance of understanding these differences when prescribing and guiding patients. Further systematic studies on other eyedrop products should be carried out to enhance appropriate drug use and inform the development of user-friendly formulations.

Objective: This study evaluated the practical utility of Microsoft Copilot PRO®, a GPT-4-based generative AI tool, in addressing diverse medication inquiries at a hospital's drug information center.Design: We conducted an observational study in which three experienced drug information pharmacists independently evaluated the AI-generated responses and rated their overall utility using a three-point scale.Methods: A total of 330 inquiries drawn from 11 predefined categories (e.g., dose conversion, pharmacokinetics, and administration during pregnancy) were selected from five years of archived queries. Each question was entered verbatim into Copilot's "GPT-4 Strict" mode to generate one response per query. The raters classified the answers as "useful," "not useful," or "uncertain".Results: A total of 44.9% of the 330 answers were deemed "useful." Among the 11 categories, the highest proportion of "useful" responses was observed for pregnancy-related inquiries (58. 9%), while the lowest occurred for questions on admixture stability (15.6%).Conclusion: Although Microsoft Copilot PRO® achieved a 44.9% "useful" rating overall, its performance varied across inquiry categories, with particularly low usefulness for admixture-related questions. Despite presenting reference links that allow pharmacists to scrutinize supporting evidence, concerns remain regarding the limited agreement among evaluators, especially for "uncertain" cases. Further refinement of AI tools and increased availability of high-quality online drug information may enhance the reliability of the copilot. Future studies should examine the reproducibility, explore optimal prompt designs, and involve larger multicenter samples. Although Copilot shows promise, it cannot replace critical human judgment in drug information services, underscoring the need for ongoing evaluation.

Objective: We investigated the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with chronic diseases in community pharmacies in Japan and examined its relationship to patient attributes, an area that has not been previously studied.Method: We surveyed 1,500 participants with chronic diseases and 1,500 from the general population without chronic diseases (Free-GP) using the EuroQol (5-dimension, 5-level) questionnaire. Patient attributes included the number of drugs used, duration of medication, number of chronic conditions, perceived disease severity, and perceived treatment importance. Logistic regression analyses assessed how these attributes influenced the likelihood of reporting “full health” (no problems on all HRQoL questions) among patients with chronic disease. An exploratory decision tree analysis was performed to identify patient attributes that might decrease HRQoL.Result: The HRQoL score of patients (0.856) was lower than that of Free-GP (0.942). The HRQoL of patients tended to increase with aging. Among patients, the mean HRQoL score was 0.781 for polypharmacy, which decreased with the addition of disease severity perception (even lower for those in their 20s-40). Even in the absence of polypharmacy, the average HRQoL score decreased when patients were in their 20s with multimorbidity. The HRQoL scores of non-polypharmacy patients in their 30s or older were higher than the mean scores of patients with chronic disease.Conclusion: To provide extensive care for patients with reduced HRQoL in community pharmacies, it is necessary to focus on polypharmacy. Reduced HRQoL should be considered in younger patients with multimorbidity, even in the absence of polypharmacy.

With the expanding responsibilities of pharmacists, the time required to create medical records has become a significant burden, highlighting the need for efficiency improvements. Among text input methods, speech recognition offers a faster alternative to keyboard input and is expected to reduce workload. This study evaluated the utility of a speech recognition tool in generating medication management instruction records. First, ward pharmacists rated subjective changes in their workload before and after using the tool on an 11-point scale (ranging from −5 for deterioration to ＋5 for improvement). The median score was 0 (range: −4 to ＋2), indicating no perceived improvement. Next, two sample texts (349 and 605 characters) were transcribed using both the speech recognition tool and keyboard input, with input times measured. Speech recognition required 186±15 and 395±24 for the first and second texts, respectively, compared to 252±19 and 511±26 s for keyboard input, demonstrating a significant reduction in time. Although no subjective decrease in workload was observed, these findings suggest that speech recognition tools may enhance efficiency in record creation. Further research in this area is warranted, encouraging audience engagement in the ongoing scientific process and fostering a sense of shared responsibility.