Education as a means of reducing medical expenses

In treating patients with infectious diseases, key knowledge and experience are essential in making appropriate clinical decisions. Medical students in Japan receive limited tuition in clinical pharmacology and microbiology in their undergraduate curriculum. Education and guidance in these fields ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical education 1999-02, Vol.33 (2), p.145-153
Main Authors: Tajima, Y, Nagasawa, Z, Tanabe, I, Kusaba, K, Tadano, J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-Bacterial Agents - administration & dosage
Anti-Bacterial Agents - economics
Antibiotics
computer-assisted drug therapy
Drug Costs
Drug Therapy, Computer-Assisted - methods
education in medicine
Education, Medical - methods
Humans
Japan
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Summary:In treating patients with infectious diseases, key knowledge and experience are essential in making appropriate clinical decisions. Medical students in Japan receive limited tuition in clinical pharmacology and microbiology in their undergraduate curriculum. Education and guidance in these fields are not always provided, even during postgraduate training. To help overcome this problem, we have devised a quick medical reference system to support antimicrobial chemotherapy, and this has been operating in our hospital since May 1994. This system is integrated in order to convey the maximal significance of test results by providing detailed information on various kinds of pathogens and antibiotics immediately on every computer display. This is a unique system in Japan, and aims to help doctors provide effective therapy. Using this system, we have succeeded in reducing medical expenditure for antimicrobials by around 10%.
ISSN:0308-0110
1365-2923
DOI:10.1046/j.1365-2923.1999.00269.x