Pharmacists to Quiz Customers over Dementia

The Yomiuri Shimbun 

February 16, 2009

Japan  

The Japan Pharmaceutical Association plans to ask member pharmacies across the nation to inform local support centers when customers exhibit signs of dementia. 

Nationwide, there are now over two million people with dementia. The association hopes its scheme will help identify those with dementia in its early stages and allow for prompt treatment. 

The project, which will get under way in April at the earliest, will call on pharmacies to work with local branches of the association to build up a cooperative framework within respective municipalities. 

Under the system, pharmacists will ask elderly people if they sometimes forget simple facts or are often told they are forgetful. The pharmacist also will ask customers if they are currently taking any medication, and if so, which kind, to confirm that symptoms are not connected with the medicine in question. If dementia is suspected, pharmacies can pass on the person's details to a regional support center with the consent of the person or members of his or her family. 

Support centers responsible for providing at-home care will designate a member of staff to liaise with the patient's family and medical institutions. Such support workers would introduce patients to professional medical institutions that have a dementia specialist. 

The government plans to establish 150 professional medical centers across the nation. All of about 50,000 pharmacies in the nation are eligible to sign up to the scheme. 

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