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薬理と治療
Abstract
Objectives In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of pharmacist intervention on potential medical cost reduction in pharmacies associated with the sale of non-prescription drugs. Methods Sales records of non-prescription drugs from WIN Pharmacy Yokohama Nishiguchi Store, Yokohama, Japan, during October 1st, 2016 to May 31st, 2017, were collected. The data were classified into four groups:“ cold”,“ vasomotor rhinitis”,“ allergic rhinitis by pollen”, and “others”, based on the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision(ICD-10). Results A total of 953 drug sales records were analyzed. The data showed that 60% of users (n=570)took non-prescription drugs after consulting the pharmacist. Although in 91%(n=866)cases, the use of non-prescription drugs was appropriate, 2%(n=16)of users required consultation recommendation. The potential medical cost reduction estimated from non-prescription drug sales trends during the survey period was 0.89 million yen for“colds”, 90,000 yen for“vasomotor rhinitis”, 0.46 million yen for“allergic rhinitis by pollen”, and 2.83 million yen for“others”, totaling 4.26 million yen; on the basis of this estimate, the annual potential medical cost reduction was 6.40 million yen. Considering this estimated cost reduction, we predicted that if there were 10,000 health support pharmacies in Japan, the savings towards potential medical expenses would be approximately 64 billion yen annually. Conclusions The increase in the number of pharmacies that actively support self-medication through the sale of non-prescription drugs suggests further reduction in medical costs in the future.
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