Establishing the DI Office to improve the quality of communication with customers, increase our brand value, and strengthen governance
What is the DI Office?
DI stands for “drug information.” The DI Office of SUGI Pharmacy collects medical information, analyzes, processes, and edits the information in a way that takes mainly account of those who need it, and then disseminates and stores it in an easy-to-understand manner. The prescription dispensing and the sales of medical and pharmaceutical products are carried out by pharmaceutical professionals such as pharmacists and registered pharmaceutical distributors. To support these operations, the DI Office acts as a consultation and inquiry desk regarding response. SUGI Pharmacy, which also operates prescription dispensing drugstores with a focus on healthcare and beauty care, disseminates a variety of information in the fields of medicine, health, and beauty. When necessary, the DI Office conducts checks and offers advice from a pharmaceutical perspective and from the perspective of pharmaceutical affairs laws and regulations, thereby strengthening governance.
Providing academic support for conference and paper presentations
As we work to improve the quality of our communication with customers, we provide support for pharmacists who can offer high-quality services to give presentations on their achievements at academic conferences and other opportunities. We have a system in which pharmacists who serve as role models in terms of their efforts to improve the quality of communication with customers give presentations at academic conferences and the presented information is shared inhouse. By taking advantage of this system, we strive to ensure that pharmacists working at pharmacies contribute to even better medical care.
In FY2023 (as of December 31, 2023), pharmacists and nationally certified dietitians of SUGI Pharmacy gave 32 presentations at academic conferences. At the 17th General Meeting of the Pharmacy Society of Japan, held at the Nagoya Congress Center on October 8 and 9, 2023, SUGI Pharmacy gave nine presentations, of which two were selected for an Excellent Award when only four presentations in total were awarded as such. We also co-hosted a symposium and learned a lot together with many participants.
Major Academic Conferences where Pharmacists and Nationally Certified Dietitians of SUGI Pharmacy Gave Presentations
| Conference name | |
|---|---|
| The 17th | General Meeting of the Pharmacy Society of Japan |
| The 16th | Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Pharmaceutical Palliative Care and Sciences |
| The 17th | Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Nephrology and Pharmacotherapy |
| The 39th | Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism (JSPEN2024) |
| The 33rd | Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Pharmaceutical Health Care and Sciences |
| The 29th | Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association for Disaster Medicine |
| The 7th | Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Geriatric Pharmacy |
| 2023 Joint Academic Conference of the Tokai Block of the Japanese Society of Hospital Pharmacists and the Tokai Branch of the Pharmaceutical Society of Japan | |
| Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Pharmaceutical Oncology in 2023 | |
Establishing a framework for supporting patients through Family Pharmacy Support app
Based on the cooperation between our prescription dispensing and merchandising sectors, we have encouraged customers who have purchased merchandise to download our Family Pharmacy Support app, with the total number of downloads reaching 950,000. Consequently, 110,000 prescriptions are sent per month through the app, leading to improved convenience for patients. We will continue to reinforce the support framework for patients through the app.
Improving medication adherence by providing medication follow-up
We have adopted a preliminary counseling style in which pharmacists provide counseling to patients when receiving prescriptions from them. Under the system, pharmacists can concentrate on communication with patients, which is their primary role. In addition to detailed medication instruction to patients at the store, pharmacists also provide medication follow-up during the medication period via a smartphone app after the patients return home, thus allowing them to deal with their problems anytime, anywhere.
In FY2023, the number of medication follow-up cases reached 1.25 million. By reinforcing the activity, we would like to improve medication adherence and therapeutic effects.
Reinforcing alliance toward preventing polypharmacy
Polypharmacy (multiple medication use causing harmful effects) is a social issue primarily related to senior citizens. To prevent this, we are undertaking joint research with the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology on an operation model featuring a local alliance involving doctors and pharmacists at hospitals and pharmacists at pharmacies. Usually, it is difficult to address polypharmacy in outpatients and in-home patients after their discharge from hospital. By reinforcing cooperation between hospitals and pharmacies, however, we are striving to eliminate polypharmacy and consequently to increase the effectiveness and safety of medical therapy.