Estimation of actual report rates using data from the survey of physicians, dentists and pharmacists

PURPOSES: Physicians, dentists and pharmacists are required to report to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare every two years by law in Japan and the Survey of Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists (SPDP) is carried out based on the information provided. Because report omissions are known to occur with the SPDP, we estimated the actual report rates. METHODS: The report rate is usually estimated by diving the number of persons reporting by the number of total registrants in each registration year, but the survival rate is not considered in this method. We therefore estimated the report rates of registrants after 1955, using data from the SPDP between the years 1982 and 2000, without considering the survival rate, and then estimated the report rates of registrants after 1955, using data from the 2000 SPDP, this time considering the survival rate. We also compared the report rates among physicians, dentists and pharmacists. RESULTS: In the year 2000 SPDP, the report rates (physicians, dentists and pharmacists) without considering the survival rate were 87.08%, 84.98% and 71.58%, respectively. The respective values considering the survival rate were 90.30%, 87.15% and 72.98%, respectively. The improvement in the report rate for pharmacists was less than those for physicians or dentists. With physicians and dentists, when the survival rates were taken into consideration, rates were more than 90% between 1965 and 2000, except for a temporary decline around 1990. With pharmacists, however, lower rates were observed in the earlier years of registration. The reasons for the differences in report rates for physicians, dentists and pharmacists were thought to be as follows: 1) There are more women pharmacists than physicians or dentists. 2) The survival rate of pharmacists is higher than for physicians or dentists. 3) The mean registration age of pharmacists is younger than that of physicians or dentists. CONCLUSIONS: Differences exist with report rates of physicians, dentists and pharmacists, and these appear due to variation in the gender ratio and age distribution.