[Pharmaceutical Service after the Fukushima Disaster: A Case Report of Soma General Hospital].

ABSTRACT

  Despite being damaged by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, Soma General Hospital, located approximately 40 km north of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, was able to fulfill its role as a key regional hospital in northeast Fukushima. To elucidate the pharmaceutical service in response to the disaster, we investigated the hospital's operations in 2011 according to the medical records and prescriptions. One of the difficulties that the department of pharmaceutical service faced at that time was the increase in emergency healthcare requests by evacuated patients from other hospitals and clinics. Herein, we propose the following countermeasures to be considered in future disaster preparations (1) establishing a medical and pharmaceutical service coordinator for disaster relief; (2) sharing all local patients' medical information in emergencies (at least contraindicated drugs or allergy history); and (3) reviewing disaster stockpiles, especially pharmaceuticals (both at the hospital and in nearby locations).