Local Pharmacy Pharmacists' Responses to the Prescription of Drugs That Influence Driving.

In 2013, the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare issued a notification regarding drugs that influence driving. Afterward, a questionnaire survey of these drugs was conducted involving health insurance pharmacies in Tokyo and Shiga Prefectures. As a result, 503 (Tokyo) and 116 (Shiga) pharmacies provided completed questionnaires. The notification was sufficiently and slightly recognized by 20% and 44% of the surveyed pharmacies, respectively, and drugs with a driving-related warning were recognized by 31% of the pharmacies. In addition, 23% of the pharmacies reported that they always asked patients whether they drive. The influence on driving of antianxiety drugs, hypnotics, antiepileptics, and smoking-cessation drugs was always explained to patients by 74%, 72%, 64%, and 40% of the pharmacies, respectively. Concerning responses to the prescription of drugs influencing driving, the proportion of surveyed pharmacies in Tokyo and Shiga Prefectures that directed patients not to drive was 71% and 53%, respectively, and that directed patients to stop driving on developing any symptom was 32% and 49%. Tokyo and Shiga Prefectures showed a significant difference in the reason for not prohibiting driving; the proportion of pharmacies that regarded strict medication adherence as of major importance to treat patients' primary diseases was 22% and 43%, respectively. This difference might have been attributable to a high percentage of patients (80%) driving to pharmacies in Shiga Prefecture. To facilitate the prescription of drugs influencing driving, it is recommended to design drug-specific pharmaceutical education manuals that also give consideration to patients' QOL.