Topics General Meeting of the Pharmaceutical Consultation and Response Study Group for FY2023 held.
The Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Japan (PMAJ) Pharmaceutical Consultation and Response Study Group held its 2023 General Meeting on May 17 in a hybrid format of on-site and online meetings (Table 1). In addition to the 66 members of the Pharmaceuticals Consultation and Response Study Committee, special lectures were additionally invited for online participation, bringing the total number of participants to 102. Since the meeting was held after the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19) had been moved to category 5, 34 participants, about half of the member companies, attended the meeting and deepened exchanges among the companies. The following is a summary of the program.
Table 1 Program
Pharmaceutical Consultation Response Study Group Activity Report for FY2022 and Activity Policy for FY2023
Mr. Yoshiaki Isshiki, then Chairperson of the Pharmaceutical Consultation Study Group, reported on the activities in FY2022 and explained the activity policy for FY2023. He explained that the activities in FY2022 enabled the visualization of issues based on the results of questionnaires, etc., and that FY2023 would be a year to take action to address them.
He concluded by mentioning the innovative progress of AI with the advent of image generation A "I Stable Diffusion" and ChatGPT, and the need for further development of generative AI (generative AI) with a view to how it can be utilized as a technology in the pharmaceutical consultation service and lead to creative activities. He concluded that it is necessary to further develop the technology with a view to how it can be utilized as a technology in pharmaceutical consultation services and creative activities.
Yoshiaki Isshiki, Chair (at that time), Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association of Japan, Pharmaceuticals Consultation and Response Study Group
Drug Information Review Subcommittee Activity Report for FY2022 and Activity Policy for FY2023
Ms. Shiko Mitsui, Chairperson of the Drug Information Review Subcommittee of the Pharmaceutical Consultation and Response Study Group, explained the activity report for FY2022 and the activity policy for FY2023. The Drug Information Review Subcommittee is working on the priority issues of "understanding and analyzing the current status and issues of drug consultation and disseminating information in a timely manner" and "promoting the use of customer feedback (inquiries, complaints, requests, etc.) that comes in for drug consultation. A "Questionnaire Survey on the Current Status of Use of and Requests for Pharmaceutical Companies' Pharmaceutical Consultation Service" and a "Web-based Questionnaire Survey on the Utilization of VOC (Voice of Customer)" were conducted among pharmacists and member companies, respectively, to understand and analyze the current situation. The results will be reported at the regular meeting in October 2023.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, Pharmaceutical Consultation and Response Study Group
Drug Information Study Group
Shiko Mitsui, Chairperson
Subcommittee for Establishment of Information Provision Activity Report for FY2022 and Activity Policy for FY2023
Mr. Takashi Fukunaga, Chairperson of the Subcommittee for Establishment of the Information Provision System of the Pharmaceutical Consultation Study Group, reported on the activities in FY2022 and explained the activity policy for FY2023. The Subcommittee is working on two themes, "Study of a new system infrastructure (cross-business information platform)" and "Study of information provision for the future of MI functions," in response to the key issue of "improving customer access to drug information through the use of digital technology. The report stated that, for the "new system infrastructure," the necessary information and functions for the platform are being organized, and that in FY2023, the ideal form of the "new system infrastructure" will be compiled through further in-depth study of customer needs. As for "future MI functions," we have focused on understanding the current situation by conducting a "questionnaire survey on new channels (digital tools, etc.) used in call centers other than telephones" targeting pharmaceutical companies and a "technical survey (interview) on new channels (digital tools)" targeting four vendors. In FY2023, the committee will analyze the results of these surveys and work in collaboration with other subcommittees based on the results of their surveys, etc., to achieve results.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan Pharmaceuticals Consultation Committee
Information Provision Subcommittee
Takashi Fukunaga Chairperson
In the participants' questionnaire after the General Meeting, many commented that they were eagerly awaiting the results of the surveys conducted by both subcommittees, indicating a high level of interest.
PhindMI Promotion WG Progress Report
Ms. Chikako Sugimoto, sub-leader of the Working Group for Promotion of PhindMI of the Study Group for Consultation and Response to Pharmaceutical Drugs (WG), reported on the activities of the WG for Promotion of PhindMI. She reported that PhindMI, an ethical drug FAQ search service, was launched in 2019 with 5 participating companies and steadily expanded to 16 companies as of May 2023, and compared to 2019, the number of products that can be searched has increased by 1.6 times to about 400 products and the number of FAQs has increased by 4 times to about 8,000. The number of products that can be compared and searched for at that time was about 400, or 1.6 times the number of products at that time in 2019. The WG is also available for individual consultation to each company, and requested each member company to positively consider participation in the WG. The WG requested each member company to positively consider participation in the WG.
The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan, Pharmaceuticals Consultation and Response Study Group
PhindMI Promotion WG
Sugimoto, Chikako Sub Leader
Report on the activities of the Medical Relationship Promotion WG
Mr. Masahiro Wakasugi, leader of the Medical Relationship Promotion WG of the Pharmaceutical Consultation Response Study Group, reported on the activities of the Medical Relationship Promotion WG. The WG was established in 2021 to strengthen cooperation between the Pharmaceutical Consultation Section and related organizations. He explained how the WG has been building relationships mainly with the Japan Association for the Appropriate Use of Drugs (RAD-AR) and the Japan Association for the Japanese Society for Drug Information (JASDI). The program of this year's Annual Meeting included the first collaborative presentation with RAD-AR.
Ms. Tomiko Tawaraki, President of RAD-AR, reported on the current status of the Pharmaceuticals Bookmark Millennium Promotion Project, stating that as of the end of April 2023, 1,187 patient-oriented materials from 49 companies had been linked to 2,267 bookmarks, which is approximately 14% of all bookmarks listed on the website. This is about 14% of all bookmarks. The information for patients linked to the bookmarks can be provided to medical systems such as electronic medical records, drug history management systems, receipt computers, and drug registers, and efforts are being made to reach medical professionals and patients through various channels. He also requested the participants of the General Meeting to cooperate in providing explanatory opportunities and bridges to the departments that handle information for patients within their companies.
Council for the Appropriate Use of Drugs, a general incorporated association
Pharmaceutical Association of Japan Pharmaceutical Consultation and Response Study Group
Medical Relationship Promotion WG
Masahiro Wakasugi Leader
Special Lecture
Current status and issues of insurance pharmacy pharmacist operations in the promotion of medical DX
-Future initiatives
Mr. Toru Haraguchi, Executive Director, Japan Pharmaceutical Association
At the beginning of his presentation, Dr. Haraguchi introduced that in the era of VUCA*1 surrounding pharmacists, he tells pharmacists to be aware of the following three things to work on.
| 1. | Proactive input of new information (understanding of technology, systems, proactively incorporate information on policy and regulatory reforms) |
| 2. | Quick decision-making and action (accept change, respond flexibly, and develop the ability to think toward problem-solving) |
| 3. | Clarity of vision (When in doubt, return to the Pharmacists' Code of Conduct and the Pharmacists' Code of Conduct) |
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1The term was coined from the first letters of the four words "volatility," "uncertainty," "complexity," and "ambiguity," to indicate that we live in an era in which the environment is changing, the future is difficult to predict, and diversification is required.
In his speech, he explained four topics: "Informatization of the medical field and medical digital transformation (DX)," "Online eligibility verification and electronic prescriptions," "Information activities of pharmacy pharmacists and information and communication technology (ICT)," and "Pharmacists and pharmacy DX. The presentation was very meaningful for the pharmaceutical companies to understand the trends of pharmacists in depth, as this is a transitional period when the online qualification verification system has just been legislated and the electronic prescriptions have started to be used!
Regarding "Informatization of the Medical Field and Medical DX," the definition of "Medical DX" was first explained. To make it easier for pharmacists to visualize the concept, he introduced the term as "transforming operations, medical services, and pharmacist services based on the needs of local residents and society by responding to rapid changes in the environment surrounding pharmacists and pharmacies and utilizing data and digital technology, as well as transforming operations themselves, organizations, processes, culture, and climate to provide new value and solve problems. In other words, we will provide new value and solve problems by transforming the business itself, the organization, processes, culture, and climate.
He also gave an overview of the "National Medical Information Platform," one of the directions outlined in the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare's "Medical DX2030 Vision 2030. This is a system that allows medical insurers, medical institutions/pharmacies, local governments, and nursing care providers to share information they possess and utilize it for medical care. He also introduced the fact that, in the course of studying the linkage of information, information on "dosage and administration" can be combined in millions of ways, and standardizing this huge number of patterns has become a major hurdle.
Next, regarding "online eligibility verification and electronic prescriptions," he introduced the status of introduction of online eligibility verification (which will become mandatory in principle from April 1, 2023), as well as the benefits to pharmacists from its introduction, including "reduction in returns due to immediate eligibility verification," "more efficient insurance eligibility verification work," "confirmation of various information based on receipts," and "reduction in the number of prescriptions that are returned. The three advantages for the pharmacist side of the introduction of electronic prescriptions are: "the ability to immediately confirm eligibility, thereby reducing returns," "more efficient insurance eligibility verification," and "confirmation of various information based on receipts.
As for electronic prescriptions, although they are still not widely used at this point, the system enables information to be shared among doctors, pharmacists, and patients in real time as soon as a prescription is issued, which "enables the most recent prescription status of the patient to be grasped," "checks for duplication of medication," and "benefits to patients (electronic prescriptions). The benefits to patients (advance delivery of electronic prescriptions and information sharing via MyNa Portal). It was also shared that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's interim report on the model project for electronic prescriptions (reported at the end of March 2023) had received many positive evaluations.
Regarding "Information Activities of Pharmacists and ICT," a part of a survey on information activities in daily work conducted by the Pharmaceutical Information Center of the Fukuoka Pharmaceutical Association (637 responses) targeting members of the association was introduced. The results of the survey were introduced for the following items: the route of collection of drug information on new drugs and generics, frequently used tools for drug information sources, and desired information dissemination tools. As "information that pharmacists should provide," the participants shared that there is a high need for information on efficacy comparison of drugs with the same efficacy, how to deal with side effects, information for pregnant and nursing women, and information on off-label use of drugs.
He concluded by saying that, with regard to the emergence of AI, there is a lot of missing information at the moment, and that we should make effective use of it by making judgments from a bird's eye view. Many questions and answers were exchanged, indicating the high level of interest in the lecture among the participants.
Closing Remarks
Mr. Yoshiyuki Ishida, Executive Director of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Japan (PMAJ), expressed his gratitude to Mr. Tawaraki and Mr. Haraguchi for their participation as members of the Pharmaceuticals Consultation Study Committee.
He also stated that the secretariat would like to provide support to the committee as FY2022 will be a year to visualize issues related to pharmaceutical consultation services and FY2023 will be a year to consider solutions. He concluded by saying that close collaboration with external stakeholders is an important issue, and that he would like to promote better activities while looking across all committees within the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Japan (PMAJ).
Mr. Yoshiyuki Ishida, Executive Director, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Japan
( Atsuko Morita, Chairperson of the Pharmaceutical Consultation Response Study Group)