Utilization of a computerized system at the pharmacy department of the University of Tokyo Hospital--impact of prescription order entry and computerized dispensing system.

(1) A medication order entry system, (2) a fully automatic tablet counting and packaging machine connected with a medication order entry system, and (3) a check system for one dose package developed and implemented in the University of Tokyo Hospital are described. The principal objectives of these systems are (1) to reduce medication errors and the clerical workload of staff, (2) to make more efficient use of staff, (3) to provide staff with sufficient drug information for patient drug therapy. We compared computerized systems (post-computerization) and traditional multi-dose dispensing systems (pre-computerization) by analyzing inquiry rate and dispensing time in the pharmacy for inpatients. Inquiry rate was 23.0% and 2.6% for pre-computerization and post-computerization, respectively. Total dispensing time per patient was 207 seconds and 147 seconds for pre-computerization and post-computerization, respectively. Implementation of the computerized systems helped significantly in decreasing inquiry rate and time needed to complete the dispensing process when compared with a traditional dispensing system. Implementation of the computerized systems was very useful for physicians, pharmacists, and nurses in conducting drug therapy.