1.An Exploratory Study on the Utility of Microsoft Copilot PRO® in Managing Pharmaceutical Information Inquiries at a Drug Information Service
Hideaki AYUHARA ; Yuki MIYAZAWA ; Yo FUJISE ; Hironori TAKEUCHI
Japanese Journal of Drug Informatics 2025;27(2):43-47
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.
2.Supplements use status and related problems
Soichi Shibata ; Hiroko Abe ; Masahide Ikeda ; Tadao Inoue ; Yasunori Sakamoto ; Hiroyuki Fujii ; Ayako Funaki ; Yuki Miyazawa ; Koichiro Atsuda
Japanese Journal of Drug Informatics 2010;11(3):168-172
Object: A multicenter survey was conducted to investigate the status of use of supplements and related problems in patients with diabetes mellitus.
Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to institutions where members of the Drug Information Section, Tokyo Hospital Pharmacists Association, worked, and hospitalized patients with diabetes mellitus were surveyed with a questionnaire.
Results: The response rate of the questionnaire was 85%, and 22 patients reported taking supplements. The most common motivation to purchase supplements was a recommendation from an acquaintance, followed by a recommendation from a family member and TV. Only 9.1% of the patients consulted healthcare professionals when purchasing supplements. The patients who did not follow the dosage and administration instructions and those who were not aware of precautions regarding proper use accounted for 31.8% and 63.6%, respectively. The proportion of patients who did not inform their physicians about the use of supplements was 65.2%, and 4.5% reported some health damage (rash).
Conclusion: Our results revealed that supplements were used without careful consideration and were not administered properly, suggesting that scientific evaluation of efficacy and safety was warranted in future studies. It is important for pharmacists to actively collect information on patient use of supplements and share the information within the medical team.


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