A Nationwide Questionnaire Survey on the Contributions of Board-Certified Specialist Pharmacists and Certified Pharmacists to Healthcare Quality Improvement

To clarify the contributions of board-certified specialist pharmacists and certified pharmacists to improving healthcare quality in Japan, a nationwide questionnaire survey was conducted from August 23 to October 31, 2024, regarding intervention cases in which findings were shared with the public through academic presentations and publications. Among 399 survey respondents, 628 cases were collected from 392 valid respondents. According to the specialty area, frequently reported cases were in oncology (19.1％), infectious diseases (17.5％), emergency medicine (8.5％), and nephrology (7.3％), in descending order. Regarding the intervention content, 809 responses were obtained from 628 cases, including overlapping entries, with “contributions to continuation of treatment and optimization of pharmacotherapy” being the most frequent category, accounting for 43.5％. Characteristic intervention patterns were identified across specialty areas: adverse event management was predominant in oncology, while contributions to treatment continuation and optimization of pharmacotherapy were primary in infectious diseases. Additionally, 238 free-text comments were received from all 399 respondents, many of which called for appropriate recognition within the medical reimbursement system. These findings demonstrate that board-certified specialist pharmacists and certified pharmacists contribute to improving healthcare quality across diverse clinical fields. Going forward, appropriate evaluation within the medical reimbursement system warrants further consideration alongside the certification framework established by third-party organizations.