Issues and Prospects from the OTC Industry vis a vis Pharmaceutical Education and OTC Medicines.

In the amendment of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law in 2013, a new category, Pharmacist Intervention Required Medicines (PIRM), was introduced, and other OTC medicines, which were classified after the 2006 amendment, were allowed to be sold via the Internet. Regarding PIRM, Japan's Ministry for Health, Labour and Welfare designates medicines which require special intervention by a pharmacist who explains their proper use to a patient through a face-to-face consultation, wherein the pharmacist provides guidance based on pharmaceutical knowledge and experience. This encourages consumers to approach their longer term personal healthcare with a rational knowledge of medicines, and dovetails with the direction described in "Japan is Back". Along with the 2006 amendment, an upgraded 6-year curriculum for the study of pharmacy in preparation for becoming a pharmacist was introduced. This allows student pharmacists to have more experience working in community pharmacies, thus supporting and providing pharmacists with the knowledge they need to better help the consumer to rationally use OTC medicines and self-select proper OTC medications. And this is not only restricted to OTC medicines, as there are many items sold in local pharmacies available to be utilized by the consumer with reasonable support by pharmacists. There is an expectation that the pharmacist be prepared to assist the consumer not only with prescriptions, but also with OTC medications, supplements, medical accessories, etc. using their knowledge and experience.