Actual Conditions of Dispensing Equipments at Hospital Pharmacy Investigated by Questionnaires

On the basis of the questionnaires sent back from 426 institutions, we investigated the actual conditions and moot points of the equipments for dispensing. Powder packing machine has spread to 98.6% of total institutions surveyed, and it has become indispensable for hospital pharmacies. Compared with the results of the study previously made in 1969, both the rate and number of the institutions installed with the equipment have increased, and the efficiency of the device has been improved. Recently, automatic dividing and packing machine has been used very widely. The rate of institutions having tablet crushers for dispensing remained as low as 60.1%, and that of those having mixers for diespensing was far lower, 37.1%. One-dose packaging was practiced, in various ways, at 67.4% of institutions. Drug dust clearing system was installed at 55.2%, and 2/3 of the institutions reported that the system helped prevent pharmacy allergy. Most of the non-installed hospitals desired to have such system.