Japan offers glimpse of doctor visits in post-coronavirus era
TOKYO — The coronavirus crisis has prompted Japan to ease regulations on remote medical treatment, creating an opening for tech companies and offering a glimpse of the future of healthcare in the world’s most rapidly ageing society.
As coronavirus cases spiked in April, Japan temporarily eased restrictions on remote medical care, allowing doctors to conduct first-time visits online or by telephone and expanding the number of illnesses that can be treated remotely.
The changes mark a potential shake-up in one of the world’s biggest medical markets, which has lagged countries like Australia, China, and the United States in telemedicine. The reforms could also help Japan grapple with both a skyrocketing healthcare burden and few doctors in rural areas.
Previously Japanese doctors were only allowed to treat recurring patients remotely, and for a limited number of diseases.
The rapid pace of change caught executives at Line Corp off guard, forcing Japan’s most popular social networking service to accelerate plans for the roll-out of its Line Healthcare business in the coming months.
“The effect that COVID19 brought was a huge innovation in the healthcare industry,” said Shinichiro Muroyama, representative director of Line Healthcare. “The situation has totally changed, much more rapidly than we thought.”
Line, which says it has 84 million users in Japan, aims to link doctors and patients by video.
Homegrown medical startups such as Medley Inc and MICIN Inc say they have also seen a surge in demand. Both companies offer application services for appointments, video consultations and payments.
Telehealth, or telemedicine, refers to technology that includes online consultations, cloud-based medical records, remote monitoring of patients and use of artificial intelligence to screen for diseases.
Japan’s market for such technology is set to grow by 60% to nearly 20 billion yen ($185 million) in the five years to March 2024, according to the Yano Research Institute.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has made deregulating the medical industry part of his growth strategy.
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So Ishii, a doctor who runs a clinic in Tokyo that started offering telehealth in 2017, has seen a jump in online consultations since the outbreak, with 600 patients using the service as of midJune compared to 400 two months earlier.
Ishii said telehealth could lead to better treatment for patients with lifestyle-related diseases that require continuous attention because it gave them easier access to doctors. Such ailments typically include diabetes and highblood pressure.
“Ideally, medical care should be designed to provide necessary support for patients regardless of whether it is online or on site,” he said.
About 16,100 Japanese medical institutions excluding dentists - nearly 15% of all such facilities - offered remote medical services, including by telephone, as of early July, according to the health ministry.
That marks substantial growth since July 2018, when only 970 medical institutions were registered to offer online care.