Analysis of inquiries about prescriptions at the pharmacy of Gifu Pharmaceutical University

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare explains the objectives of promo tion of separation of the pharmacy and clinics as the elimination of duplic ated prescription of similar drugs and drug interactions caused by treatmen t at several departments or hospitals, and sufficient guidance in the use o f drugs by pharmacists. The Pharmacy of Gifu Pharmaceutical University has dispensed prescriptions by outside medical organizations as its routine act ivity. In this study, the contents of question inquiries handled in routine activities were compiled and analyzed, and their meaning was evaluated. Th e contents of question inquiries were accumulated using data cards. The dat a obtained during 2 and a half years (562 cases) were analyzed. The percent age of the number of inquiries relative to the number of prescriptions was highest at 1.86% during the first 3 months and was 1.05-1.71% per 3 months thereafter. The inquiries were most frequently about "the dosage/ regimen" (153 cases), followed by "discrepancy between the contents of prescription and understanding of the patient" (88 cases) and "problems about insurance coverage" (80 cases). There were also 16 inquiries about "the possibility o f contraindications and adverse reactions" and 15 inquiries about "duplicat ed prescription", which may have exerted serious effects on the patients. E ighty nine % of the inquiries have led to changes in the prescriptions, and about half of these cases were discovered by consultation with the patient s or a review of the drug history. Proper and positive execution of these o perations in routine pharmacy work is considered to lead to appropriate inq uiries about problems with prescriptions and, thus, contribute to the prope r use of drugs and prevention of malpractice.