Stochastic Properties of Prescriptions for Infectious and Non-Infectious Diseases Dispensed by a City Pharmacy

Spectral analysis was applied in analyzing the daily variations in the number of formulations dispensed at the Tanashi Yakuhin pharmacy. The power spectral density (PSD) of the variations for an influenza anti-viral agent was observed to trend downwards to the right, whereas the PSDs for a vasodilator and antidiabetic agent were horizontal. We found that for infectious diseases, prescription amounts for consecutive days were correlated, but for non-infectious diseases, they were independent of each other. Common cold drugs came under a category between the above types, possibly because they are also used for prophylactic purposes. This paper shows that a city pharmacy can provide the useful information.