A nationwide survey of hospital pharmacist interventions to improve polypharmacy for patients with cancer in palliative care in Japan.

Background: There is no nationwide data on polypharmacy in palliative care in Japan. In this study, the research committee of the Japanese Society for Pharmaceutical Palliative Care and Sciences conducted an online survey on polypharmacy and inappropriate prescriptions involving its members who worked as hospital pharmacists.

Methods: The online questionnaire included questions about hospital pharmacist interventions for cancer patients who regularly used six or more drugs during a two-month period from October to November 2017.