NIRA

JPN

OTHERS

Revitalizing Medical Care:
Searching for Directions

Is Japan’s system of medical care sustainable in the face of an aging society?
While various policy menus have been formulated to deal with the issues, little
progress has been made in systemic reform, and a sense of crisis is widespread.
The experts interviewed for this issue of the NIRA Policy Review offer suggestions – we must respect the right of self-determination for patients, and we must find ways of moving beyond an excessive dependence on consultations with physicians. The
necessities for rendering the status of medical care visible through the use of data
and for creating mechanisms for the provision of medical care based on needs are
also indicated.

Motoshige Itoh
President, National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA)
Koichi Kawabuchi
Professor, Tokyo Medical and Dental University
Ichiro Innami
Professor, Faculty of Policy Management, Keio University
Masahiro Kami
Professor, the Institute of Medical Science, the University of Tokyo
Tomohiko Murakami
Doctor/Representative, Sasaeru Iryo Kenkyujo (NPO)
Shinya Matsuda
Professor, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health