The University Community Pharmacy on the Shiba-Kyoritsu Campus

July 31, 2019

Did you know that there is a pharmacy at the entrance of Building No. 3 of the Faculty of Pharmacy on the Shiba-Kyoritsu Campus that is open to the general public?

As of 2019, there are 78 universities with pharmacy programs in Japan, but only eight of them have an affiliated University Community Pharmacy. Among these, the Keio University Faculty of Pharmacy's University Community Pharmacy was established in 2001 as the nation's first on-campus pharmacy after a six-year preparation period by our faculty (the former Kyoritsu College of Pharmacy). Many university community pharmacies are set up as satellites away from the faculty of pharmacy buildings. This is because university campuses are generally large, and even if a university community pharmacy were located on campus, it would be far from public roads, making it unlikely to attract general users and thus unable to function as a pharmacy.

On the other hand, the Shiba-Kyoritsu Campus is located in the city center, so while the campus is not large, the entrance to the Faculty of Pharmacy is close to public roads. This allows the general public to easily access the University Community Pharmacy even though it is located on campus. As a result, our University Community Pharmacy is the only one that is an on-campus type yet actually functions as an insurance-covered pharmacy where local residents can have prescriptions dispensed and purchase over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.

The greatest advantage of having the University Community Pharmacy on the Faculty of Pharmacy campus is the excellent access it provides for Keio students and faculty. Taking advantage of this, fourth-year students in preparatory clinical education conduct medication counseling training at the pharmacy's dispensing counter, surrounded by actual patients in a realistic and tense environment. It is also used as a facility for the fifth-year pharmacy practice clerkship. Furthermore, it serves as a pharmacy where graduate students and clinical faculty members who hold pharmacist licenses can perform duties as an insurance-covered pharmacist to acquire, maintain, and improve their practical experience.

The University Community Pharmacy also serves as the primary pharmacy for local residents. To support the health maintenance and promotion of residents, it engages in activities such as measuring blood samples collected from visitors' fingertips to check their blood sugar and cholesterol levels, thereby promoting the prevention and early detection of lifestyle-related diseases. It also measures the oral environment from saliva to raise awareness about the prevention of oral diseases.

Furthermore, as an annual event, it holds a health event on the grounds of the Shiba Daijingu Shrine with the shrine's cooperation. At this event, it measures participants' oral environment, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels to widely promote awareness for the early detection and treatment of lifestyle-related diseases.

The University Community Pharmacy is also fully equipped with its own parking lot, which has led to Keio University alumni, in addition to local residents, using it as their primary pharmacy. This is creating a new point of contact with our alumni.

(Yoshiaki Ishii, Administrative Director, Shiba-Kyoritsu Campus)