The role

As the fundamental function, we always care about the quality control of medicines when purchasing, keeping, dispensing and delivering them to patients. We are also trying to give more proper medication to patients by collecting and estimating enormous information on the validity and the safety of medicines and reporting them to our staff as quickly as possible.

We have started to give various services to patients such as instructing about medicines for inpatients in the wards, reviewing patients' medication records and offering information on medicines in writing for outpatients. We intend to contribute to propel the right use of medicines.

We will also propel to issue legal prescriptions for outpatients for the purpose of smoothing our works which we think much of inpatients and works to support wards and the separation of dispensing from medical practice.

Besides, as the duty of the Department of Pharmacy in a national center, we prepare training courses for community pharmacists and pharmacists of other institutions, and we accept pharmaceutical college students for their teaching practices.

The number of staff

• 15 full-time pharmacists
• 5 part-time pharmacists
• 1 assistant pharmacist

Results of function as the Department of Pharmacy (in 1995)

1. Average number of prescription sheets per day
   for inpatients 371 sheets
   for outpatients 273 sheets
2. Average number of legal prescription sheets per day (percentage of the issue)
   269 sheets (49.7%)
3. The number of medicines we deal with (as of April 1996)
   1,276 items
4. Average number of patients whom we instructed on medicines per month (from April to December in 1996)
   209 persons

Contents of the function

1. Direct services for patients

1. Outpatients

Dispensing for outpatients
Instruction of medication
Offering information on medicines

2. Inpatients

Dispensing for inpatients
Dispensing injection ampules
Instruction of medication
Offering information on medicines
Review of patients' medication records
Drug monitoring 
IVH (mixing in the ICU)

2. Indirect services for patients

1. Drug information

Collecting, sorting, estimating and offering literature
Collecting information on side effects of medicines 
Maintenance of electronic formulary 
Publishing monthly D.I. news

2. Drug preparation

Preparation of special drug

3. Drug control

Purchasing, keeping and controlling medicines in the hospital

4. Control of test medicines

Keeping, dispensing and controlling test medicines

5. The pharmaceutical committee

Gathering and estimating materials on newly adapted medicines

6. RI

Synthesis and quality control of PET reagents

7. Narcotic

Legal control of narcotic and psychotropic drug

3. Others

1. Research

Joint Research Project from the Ministry of Health and Welfare etc.

2. Education and training

Receiving students and graduates from universitiesas trainees 
Receiving trainees from the society of pharmacists
Receiving trainees from the Department of Pharmacy of other hospitals

3. Cooperation with related organizations

A member of a committee on pharmaceutical system in Japanese society of hospital pharmacists
A member of a committee on pharmaceutical system in society of Osaka hospital pharmacists