Area-Based Medicine in the Super-Ageing Society in Japan

• Published in: The Journal of Medical Investigation Vol. 67; no. 1.2; pp. 40 - 43
• Main Authors: Inoue, Nobutaka, Matsumura, Toshiyuki, Sakai, Hiroto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The University of Tokushima Faculty of Medicine 2020
• Subjects: community-based integrated care system; social stress, cardiovascular diseases; community-based integrated care system; social stress, cardiovascular diseases
• ISSN: 1343-1420; 1349-6867
• DOI: 10.2152/jmi.67.40

Japan’s health insurance system has reached a critical turning point owing to a decreasing birthrate, increasing longevity, and changes in disease trends. The Japanese government is promoting the establishment of a community-based integrated care system aimed at maintaining the dignity of elderly individuals and supporting independent living. This care system will ensure medical and nursing care, preventive measures, and independent living support. This type of care system should be based on the characteristics of individual geographical areas, as there are marked regional variations in patterns of aging, lifestyle, and the adequacy of local medical care. Therefore, it is important that medical services are tailored to fit the kind of medical care needed by residents of each geographical area and to provide medical services accordingly. In this paper, we propose a need for area-based medicine, whereby medical care is provided according to the characteristics of individual geographical areas in super-ageing societies such as that of Japan. J. Med. Invest. 67 : 40-43, February, 2020