Japan’s telehealth offers glimpse of doctor visits in post-virus era
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 aging 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 shakeup in one of the world’s biggest medical markets, which has lagged countries like Australia, China and the US 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 COVID-19 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 start-ups 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.
Japan’s market for telehealth, or telemedicine, is set to grow by 60 percent 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.
About 16,100 Japanese medical institutions excluding dentists offered remote medical services, including by telephone, as of early July, according to the health ministry.