What do you think has changed about the pharmacists’ role from past to present?

The biggest change that is taking place is the “shift from products to people,” as advocated by the Japan Society of Hospital Pharmacists. The provision of medicines has shifted from “products” to “people” in terms of providing patients with information and advice about their medications. Amendments to the legal provisions of the Pharmacists Act will follow to reflect these changes.

Among nations around the world, providing medication information and guidance to patients is said to be unique to dispensing services in Japan. What role does this play?

It is often difficult to determine how much medication information should be provided. This information should be easy for patients to understand and follow. We provide information so that patients can continue to take the medication knowing the characteristic side effects, such as urine turning a pink color, for example. It could be said that this is characteristic of dispensing in Japan.

What are you focusing on in terms of patient initiatives and what do you think is needed to expand patient services?

The Obihiro community is characteristically and undeniably short of medical personnel for regional health care in Japan. One of the features of JA Hokkaido Koseiren is that we dispense in the hospital. We are also experiencing a shortage of pharmacists, which is a problem. Given this situation, we strive not only to provide patients with maximum information, but also to provide accurate medications in the shortest time possible.

How are you streamlining and improving the operational efficiency with a shortage of pharmacists?

Dispensing operations consist of several pharmacists. We have the same goal as all hospitals and dispensing pharmacies throughout Japan: To eliminate dispensing errors. To achieve this, we are systematizing the use of robots and equipment to streamline the dispensing process while keeping trails and evidence of each operation. I believe that our dispensing error prevention system using the barcodes on medications is one of the most advanced systems in Japan.

 

Has the introductions of dispensing robots and equipment and the automation of dispensing through the system linkage changed the way pharmacists work?

The final inspection process has changed immensely. Now we check for consistency between the medication pouches and the medication that is supposed to go in it. Before, the pharmacist would finalize inspections with a “dispensing completed” stamp, whereas now we use the medication barcodes in final inspections and store all the data. This has increased our work in terms of barcode verification, but it hasn’t increased wait times. Dispensing is done in 11 to 12 minutes, unless there are special circumstances. So, I think we are making good progress in robotizing dispensing and optimizing operations.

Would you mind telling me why you chose Yuyama?

The main reason was that the Yuyama system has a good overall balance and its own pharmaceutical information system—MdBank. After comparing it with other companies’ products, we found that the Yuyama dispensing system was superior for injectable medications. The ChemoRo Anti-Cancer Drug Mixture Preparation Robot, which we also introduced, seems to surpass other products on the market.

Obihiro Kosei Hospital compared several vendors and chose Yuyama for the best balance. We are honored that the hospital appreciated our efforts in creating the MDbank pharmaceutical information system.
JA Hokkaido Koseiren Obihiro Kosei Hospital is experimenting daily with dispensing equipment, robots, system operations, and flow lines to promote and optimize dispensing efficiency.
At Yuyama, we are grateful for your kind support to develop new products. Your words have further strengthened our ambition to contribute to the field of dispensing. Thank you for your time, today.