[Challenges Associated with Involvement of Small-Scale Pharmacies in Home Health Care]

As our society is progressing towards a composition wherein a significant portion is constituted by the elderly, a comprehensive home health care system is warranted. The provision of pharmacy services is a key factor in ensuring comprehensive home health care. Our pharmacy has been involved in home health care since its inception. This report is an attempt at evaluation of future prospects through identification and analysis of current operational issues. Our pharmacy is adequately equipped to accommodate home cared patients with significant medical dependency. However, being a small-scale business with few employees, coordinating shifts to ensure 24 hours operation in addition to providing home visits when required has been challenging. These place a substantial burden on the staff pharmacists. It is highly challenging for a single small-scale pharmacy to operate as a"self-contained pharmacy"that remains independent and still adequately serves their clients. Creating a collaborative pharmaceutical service team, consisting of several complementary small-scale pharmacies, provisionally called a "regional cooperative pharmacy,"could prove to be a more realistic alternative. In the coming decade, improving the implementation of home health care through regional level cooperation is necessary. This would require the collaboration various professionals, and the involvement of municipalities and professional organizations to ensure adequate regional support services.