In what ways can we expand on empowerment to pharmacists?]

The number of Japanese patients with chronic diseases is increasing year by year largely because of the acceleration of demographic aging and lifestyle changes in Japan. Although many patients with chronic diseases receive their medications from pharmacists, many community pharmacists have not changed their communication style with their patients. Empowerment is the basic idea that patient support is not widely known by pharmacists but the certified diabetes educator (CDE). We started Diabetes Theater, a program for healthcare providers that includes short drama and discussion with attendees, in 2009. The concept of the program is empowerment for patients: a process to help patients make better healthcare decisions. In addition, we launched another educational program to help community pharmacists learn about communication skills with diabetes patients named "The Three star Pharmacist Training Program" in 2012. In this article, we discuss our forthcoming plans to spread these ideas of empowerment among pharmacists.