[The necessity for pharmaceutical education on perioperative care -- considering the activities of operating room pharmacists in relation to types of anesthetic operations involved].

In an effort better to understand the application of pharmaceutical services in the operating room (OR) we conducted a survey among OR department directors of 526 hospitals throughout Japan. A total of 202 directors responded to the survey. Pharmacists are expected to achieve better outcomes in pharmacotherapy as well as play major roles as members of diverse perioperative care teams. Besides implementing medication safety standards, pharmacists' roles include optimizing drug therapy and other clinical interventions, both in OR and wards. Presently, few pharmacists in Japan participate in perioperative care, which is one of the reasons that the majority of pharmacy schools in Japan have been providing fewer lectures or rotations related to perioperative care. Yet, developing general perioperative management as another crucial role OR pharmacists play and incorporating it into pharmaceutical education would be important. Enriching perioperative care provided by pharmacists can contribute toward improving clinical competence in these professionals.