Public Health and Epidemiology

Our laboratory conducts research directly aimed at solving challenges in clinical practice, with three main pillars: “pharmacoepidemiology” research, which evaluates the appropriate use of pharmaceuticals and the risk of adverse effects; ‘pharmacoeconomics’ research, which analyzes the cost-effectiveness of medical care and patient quality of life; and “health services” research, which investigates the roles of pharmacists working in medical institutions and communities. We, in particular, utilize real-world data—such as medical reimbursement data and electronic health records—to conduct research in collaboration with clinicians and pharmacists across a wide range of disease fields, including cancer, infectious diseases, rheumatic diseases, allergic diseases, psychiatric disorders, pediatric diseases, chronic pain, and polypharmacy. We are also committed to training researchers capable of effectively utilizing healthcare information databases. Researchers from industry and hospital pharmacists are affiliated with us as working professionals in graduate programs or as visiting researchers. They conduct research based on various research questions and present their findings at academic conferences and in publications both domestically and internationally. We maintain multiple large-scale healthcare databases, including claims data managed by the government and private entities, and in collaboration with the Center for Pharmaceutical Data Science, we undertake both research and education.