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In the present study, we investigated whether the pharmacy services in our psychiatric hospital helped to improve the attitude of psychiatric patients to drugs. The subjects were 168 patients who received advice on medication at the hospital between August 2008 and December 2009. We found that anxiety about medication in 76% of these patients was relieved by the provision of clinical pharmacy services. This can be attributed to patients gaining an understanding of the importance of taking medication at a particular time, drug types, drug efficacy and drug-induced adverse events. Patient drug adherence scores using the 10-item version of the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-10) were significantly improved after pharmacy services were provided, indicating an improvement in drug adherence. There was a significant positive correlation between the DAI-10 score and understanding of the necessity for medication, but no correlation between the DAI-10 score and the amount of drug administered or number of doses taken per day. These results suggest that the clinical pharmacy services improve understanding of the importance of medication timing, drug type, drug efficacy and drug-induced adverse events, and also relieve medication anxiety, enhance understanding of the necessity of taking medication and improve patient attitude to a drug. We intend to further take comprehensive measures including educational, behavioral and emotional intervention.

In recent years, cancer chemotherapy has been switching from hospital treatment to ambulant treatment. In such a situation, pharmacists are required to carry out their work unfailingly and smoothly in checking chemotherapy regimens, admixtures of drugs and providing information, for example. At Tokai University Hachioji Hospital, we have been trying to computerize a regimen-check, quantitative calculations for admixtures of anticancer drugs and the comment-input function of the pharmaceutical department so that our work will be more efficient and precise. The regimen-check system receives automatically, the patients' own data and the information of injection prescriptions and of the clinical laboratory from the Hospital Information System. Then pharmacists put the information to the regimen master file for recording in order to manage dosages, the accumulated dose and dose schedule. Also by registering the amount of dissolution of each anticancer drug beforehand, the quantitative calculation system makes it possible to automatically convert dosages on electronic medical charts to a liquid measure needed for the admixtures of drugs and to print the information on the prescription of injections. Additionally, the comment-input function makes it possible to print information on injections such as chemical information needed for regimen-checks and doctors' answers to questions about prescriptions. The pharmaceutical department system enables pharmacists to check regimens accurately and quickly to calculate the precise quantity for admixtures of drugs and to share information among pharmacists. The system has also contributed to the efficiency and medical safety of the ambulant cancer chemotherapy.