Japan - The Healthcare Revolution – the rise of the “medical mall”

Citation

(2009), "Japan - The Healthcare Revolution – the rise of the “medical mall”", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 22 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2009.06222aab.006

Japan - The Healthcare Revolution – the rise of the “medical mall”

Article Type: News and views From: International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Volume 22, Issue 1

Keywords: Healthcare improvement, Quality healthcare provision, Preventative healthcare

Japan’s demographic problems are putting pressure on the healthcare system and the government seems to be endlessly chasing its own tail in its efforts to implement secure financial and organizational solutions. For example, in making more funds available for care of the elderly it has been sharply criticized for poor performance on quotidian care functions such as child delivery and ER. A Fire and Disaster Management Agency survey of last year reported 14,387 cases in which patients in ambulances were refused admittance to institutions more than three times before finally being accepted. Behind this lies a worrying shortage of doctors which puts even greater pressure on financial resources and is ultimately a threat to any citizen requiring medical attention; the OECD average doctor per people ratio for industrial nations is 3:1000, Japan falls below this with a ratio of only two doctors per 1,000 people and comes in at 27th out of 30 for industrial nations.

However, the market has responded to the problems and some Japanese companies are bringing new techniques and practices to the table in order to create viable healthcare alternatives. The future of healthcare in Japan looks to be one of improvement and innovation. Dissatisfaction with the level of medical service and the government’s funding woes has provided an opportunity, and arguably a need, for high-quality healthcare services to set up in Japan. An example of this new trend is the Osaki “DOKTORS” medical centre, opened in November of last year. Although it has only been several months since this cutting-edge medical facility has gone into business, all clinics are already in the black – a striking fact given the sharp increase in hospital bankruptcies. The Osaki centre has been highlighted because of its cutting-edge recognition for the need to actively provide preventative medicine, care for lifestyle-related illnesses, stress, and insomnia and sleep apnoea, healthcare for women and non-Japanese residents.

The recent opening of the “DOKTORS” medical centre, along with other similar medical centres, such as the Roppongi Midtown Medical Center, signals a shift in the nature of healthcare services in Japan. As the government gets more and more in a tangle, it is fair to say that there is something of a revolution taking place. Hiroyuki Miyagawa, President of Osaki Medical Mall’s management company, “DOKTORS Osaki,” provided consulting for the medical centre opened in Roppongi’s Midtown complex in 2007. He stated, “Japan is a little behind the United States in providing modern medical care facilities. A place like the Midtown Center is naturally attractive to non-Japanese residents; the majority of staff are bilingual, the doctors are excellent, and the healthcare provider’s name is well-known. A place like this is also becoming more attractive to Japanese.”

As with any market, it is the dynamic intersection between demand and supply that ultimately dictates the delivery of the products, and healthcare is a case in point. Miyagawa’s observation that the medical mall suits both patients and practitioners alike is critical. If consumers are demanding more convenient, bilingual and multi-capacity medical centres, this creates a potentially lucrative market for developers, recruiters and individual physicians.

In Japan, most people have public health insurance that covers a majority percentage of medical costs, up to 70 per cent. However, medical malls that focus on convenience, speed and quality appeal to busy office workers because they can provide a one stop service with the outpatient faculty of a general hospital.

For private doctors, catching office workers and the corporate end of the market is highly desirable. However, rents are highest in the business districts and even if a physician can meet the real estate overheads, marketing can be crippling. There is therefore a lot of attraction for such doctors in renting clinic space in a medical mall. The rent is high, but the physicians buy their way into a key downtown location and gain exposure to a constant stream of people coming into their vicinity

The Think-Park Tower is a large office block close to Medical Hi-Net’s Osaki facility. The Think-Park “DOKTORS” medical centre offers the full works: annual checkups, family health, cardiology, psychiatry, gynaecology, rheumatology, dentistry and much more. At this institution, bilingual Japanese doctors who have studied in the USA and have overseas experience are welcomed. With 300,000 people passing through Osaki train station and 10,000 workers based at the Think-Park Tower, the physicians are kept busy. Typically, a dentist there receives up to 150 patients a day, a figure unheard of for independent operators. The centre contains seven clinics offering 19 different types of medical fields and among its 78 staff, employs doctors, nurse, dentists, pharmacists and dieticians – quite out of the mould of a regular general practice.

For more information: www.japaninc.com