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Dentsu Inc. Conducts First-Ever "Pharmacist Awareness Survey" ― High Motivation as Regional Healthcare Providers, but Challenges in Practical Skills Identified ―
The text of the Dentsu Inc. news release distributed on December 7 is as follows.
December 7, 2016
Dentsu Inc. Conducts First-Ever "Pharmacist Awareness Survey"
― Pharmacists show high motivation as key players in community healthcare, but identify challenges in practical skills ―
Dentsu Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Nao Ishii) conducted its first survey on the awareness of pharmacists, who are gaining attention as key players in regional healthcare, during the period from September 30 to October 5, 2016.
This spring saw the launch of the "Primary Pharmacist System." Pharmacists are now expected to play a role not only in medication support and leftover medication management but also as key players who monitor patients' treatment and daily lives in collaboration with medical institutions.
Furthermore, pharmacies are increasingly expected to serve as hubs for community health promotion, actively contributing even in areas like "prevention" and "subclinical conditions" where direct medical involvement has traditionally been limited. This initiative aims to enhance the effectiveness of healthcare through regional efforts, ultimately increasing the number of healthy citizens and promoting the rationalization of medical expenses.
Reflecting this trend, building collaborative relationships with pharmacies and pharmacists has become a major focus not only for healthcare institutions seeking to contribute to public health, but also for pharmaceutical and medical device companies, as well as healthcare enterprises involved in "food," "rest," and "exercise."
To gain concrete insights into the evolving roles of pharmacies and pharmacists and the future of community healthcare, we conducted this survey. We believed it necessary to clarify the realities faced by pharmacists in the field, including "patient interactions at the point of care," "their awareness and actions as community healthcare providers," "the skills and information needed to meet expectations," and "their awareness and actions regarding generic drugs."
The survey results revealed that while pharmacists are increasingly aware of their role as key players in community healthcare, they themselves feel they lack sufficient skills and information to put this awareness into practice. Going forward, deeper functional complementarity between community healthcare institutions and related companies will likely be necessary.
This release introduces the main findings from the survey.
*Our group has established a "Medical Domain Specialist Team" centered around Dentsu Inc.'s Business Creation Center, spanning specialized subsidiaries and group companies. This team handles projects for pharmaceutical and medical device companies, medical institutions, dispensing pharmacies, government agencies, and others.
<Key Findings>
1. While both workplaces and individual pharmacists increasingly express a desire to contribute as key players in regional healthcare, actual communication with patients remains limited to basic medication-related topics. They are not yet able to grasp the "patient's life circumstances," which will be essential going forward. Furthermore, communication levels vary significantly depending on the pharmacy type: "hospital-affiliated," "chain," or "independently owned."
2.The highest barriers to implementing "Community-Based Integrated Care" are "matters concerning homebound patients," "24-hour availability," and "utilizing ICT tools like electronic medication records." The primary individual challenge is improving "communication skills."
3. Pharmacists' diverse information needs, ranging from dispensing duties to contributing to community healthcare, are not sufficiently met in the current environment.
4.Pharmacists at "independently owned" and "chain" community pharmacies differ from hospital pharmacists in their willingness to recommend generic drugs. Further adoption requires demonstrating functional advantages, such as "improvements in taste and dosage form."
≪Survey Results Details≫
1. Awareness of being a key player in community healthcare is high, but current efforts are perceived as "still lacking."
● Awareness of being a "key player in community healthcare" is high, at 60-70% both for the workplace and for individual pharmacists.
● However, regarding the current state of efforts, less than half of both workplaces and individuals feel they are "making progress," indicating an overall perception that efforts are "still insufficient."
[Awareness and Efforts as Key Players in Community Healthcare]
Q. Expectations for pharmacies and pharmacists as future leaders in community healthcare are growing. Please indicate which statements apply to your workplace's or your own efforts regarding "community healthcare" and "community-based integrated care."
2. Conversations with patients focus mainly on medication-related topics. Understanding of patients' life circumstances is limited.
● While basic conversations like explaining prescribed medications occur, few cases involve understanding the "patient's life circumstances"—a necessity for future roles in integrated community care. By pharmacy type, pharmacists at "independently owned" and "chain" dispensing pharmacies generally engage in more frequent conversations. Additionally, many also discuss "recommending generic drugs" and "explaining the paper medication record book."
●Pharmacists at "independently owned" pharmacies were found to engage slightly more often in "private conversations unrelated to medicine or health." However, like other types, they rarely discuss patients' lifestyle backgrounds, such as dietary habits or exercise routines.
【Topics Discussed with Patients (Top 2 Most Frequent Conversations)】
Q. Reflecting on your typical duties, what kinds of conversations do you have with patients?
3. Highest barriers to implementing "Community-Based Integrated Care" are: "Utilizing ICT like electronic medication records," "24-hour availability," and "Matters concerning homebound patients."
[Intent to engage in "community-based healthcare" and "community-based integrated care," but barriers preventing implementation (personal)]
Q. As we move toward the era of community-based integrated care, the functions expected of pharmacies and pharmacists will increase significantly. Please indicate all items that apply to you personally from the following.
4. To contribute to community healthcare, as an individual pharmacist, I wish to focus on "improving communication skills and hospitality."
[Actions you personally plan to take regarding "community healthcare" and "community-based integrated care"]
Q. As we move toward the era of community-based integrated care, the functions expected of pharmacies and pharmacists will increase significantly. Please indicate all items that apply to you personally from the following.
5. From a pharmacist's perspective, information beneficial to healthcare policy and personal career development is "necessary but insufficient."
● The only area where pharmacists perceive both "insufficient" and "sufficient" information levels as equally prevalent is "new product launch information" for new drugs and generic drugs.
● For all other information, the perception is uniformly "needed but insufficient."
● Information currently lacking but needed in the future includes: information on healthcare policy and systems (such as regional healthcare, integrated community care, and medical collaboration), information on national movements like healthcare system reforms, information on medical fees and dispensing fee calculations, information on personal career planning, and information on pharmacy management.
【Information Needs】
Q. Please tell us about the information you consider necessary for your current work.
6. Dispensing pharmacists show higher intent to recommend generics and greater understanding of their safety compared to hospital pharmacists
● Pharmacists at "independently owned" and "chain" community pharmacies scored over 10 points higher than hospital pharmacists on "I am proactive in recommending generic drugs." Regarding "Generic drugs are as safe as brand-name drugs," hospital pharmacists scored slightly lower than their community pharmacy counterparts, indicating a tendency for differing opinions.
[Perceptions of Generic Drugs (by Pharmacy Type)]
Q. We would like to ask about your perceptions regarding generic drugs. For each of the following statements, please select the one that best reflects your opinion.
7. Functional improvements like taste or dosage form lead to generic dispensing
[Attitudes Toward Generic Drug Dispensing]
Q. Please indicate which statement best reflects your feelings regarding the dispensing of generic drugs.
＜Overview of the "2016 Pharmacist Awareness Survey"＞
・Survey Company: Dentsu Macromill Insight, Inc.
・Survey Method: Internet survey
・Survey Period: September 30 to October 5, 2016
・Survey Participants: Individuals holding a pharmacist license and currently employed as full-time pharmacists
(Hospital-employed / Independently-owned dispensing pharmacies / Chain dispensing pharmacies; Total 327 respondents)
・Main Survey Topics: "Current Work Realities," "Relationships with Pharmaceutical Companies," "Information Provision/Needs," "Generic Drugs," "Community Healthcare," "Community-Based Integrated Care," "Career Vision"
End
Dentsu Inc. News Release
http://www.dentsu.co.jp/news/release/2016/1207-009097.html
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