Pharmacist-managed clinics for patient education and counseling in Japan: current status and future perspectives

To improve the adherence to and knowledge about pharmacotherapy in outpatients and to maximize the efficacy and minimize the adverse drug events, the first pharmacist-managed clinic (PMC) in Japan was established for anticoagulation therapy at Nagoya University Hospital in 2000. Since then, various PMCs such as for asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Alzheimer’s disease, hypercholesterolemia, chronic hepatitis C, cancer chemotherapy, palliative care, chronic kidney disease, and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis have been established and expanded to many hospitals in Japan. Accumulating evidences suggest that PMCs have some beneficial effects on patients’ adherence to and knowledge about their pharmacotherapy as well as the clinical outcome, besides being cost-effective. Notably, PMCs for cancer chemotherapy have been approved as a new medical service in hospitals in 2014, which is covered by the universal health coverage in Japan. In this review article, the current status of PMCs for patient education and counseling in Japan and their impact on pharmaceutical care and management are critically reviewed. Furthermore, future perspectives on PMCs are discussed.