Introduction: The torrential rain triggering massive flooding and hundreds of landslides were worst weather disaster in Western Japan. Temporary pharmacy was established in Kurashiki health center and provided a medicine to victims.
Aim: The aim of the research is to evaluate the supply status of prescription under the health insurance system during a disaster.
Methods: When the enormous disaster occurred, victims get a prescription in the hospital or community pharmacy under the Disaster Relief Act or Health Insurance Act. Under the Disaster Relief Act, prescriptions that are given at a first aid station, are able to be filled at the mobile pharmacies at no cost to the patient from the local government. Prescriptions that are issued by a medical institution and compile with the Health Insurance Act or National Health Insurance Act, can be dispensed at hospital or community pharmacies and patients may be exempt from the co-payment by being covered by their health insurance. Here, we investigated the supply status of prescription to affected people.
Results: The good points of the supply status were as following: 1) Dispensing at out of disaster area was good system to relief pharmacist, 2) J-SPEED was also a good reporting system to provide appropriative medicine inventory management, and 3) Sending prescription using a mobile phone was very useful for pharmaceutical activities. On the other hand, the points for improvement were as following: 1) More time to learn the medical insurance system during the disaster was needed, and 2) Appropriate pharmaceutical care should be considered even if the affected area (Figure 2), and 3) The mobile pharmacy is better to make the rounds of shelters including health care consultation.
Discussion: In case of a disaster, two different medicine supply systems cause confusion to medical relief teams. It is considered that collaboration relief activities among relief teams including the pharmacist was very important.

Pharmaceutical Relief Activities at Western Japan Torrential Rain Disaster