Expectations for pharmacists and pharmacy education in AST activities

Abstract

Since 2018, high expectations have been placed on the eŠorts of pharmacists in infectious disease diagnostic aid via Japan's antimicrobial stewardship team (AST). We will explain this while describing the process of diagnostic aid at our institution, a university hospital, and taking into account the point of view of what is required of pharmacist by infection control doctors when performing infectious disease diagnostic aid as well. At our hospital, we implement AST rounds as infectious disease diagnostic aid for positive blood cultures, bacterial culture results, fever, long-term administration of anti-bacterial medication, example consultation cases, etc. The number of rounds has been increasing over time, totaling 5654 cases in 2018. When performing infectious disease diagnostic aid, failure to also bear in mind infection control measures can result in failed treatment and outbreaks, so AST must coordinate with infection control team (ICT). Furthermore, when engaging in infectious disease diagnostic aid, pharmacists must also participate in clinical research in order to improve the quality of treatment. Although it also depends on the facility environment they are affiliated with, it would seem to be necessary for pharmacists to verify the knowledge obtained from clinical data using a fundamental approach. Moreover, conducting education for the doctor, pharmacist, and nurse trainees who make up their fellow and future staŠ is another vital role of AST pharmacists.