Digital health care services just around corner in Japan

 07-Aug-16, The Japan Times

Businesses small and large are looking to cash in on the potential for smartphones and wearable devices as health care trends toward the digital age.

Image: IStock / The Japan Times

They are especially interested in preventive medicine, an area that could ultimately help rapidly graying Japan slash its ballooning medical costs, which topped JPY40 trillion (USD400 bn) in fiscal 2014.

"Japan’s medical spending is reaching its limit … if there are things that can be streamlined, we need to do it. I think digital health care services can spark such efforts," Masato Iwasaki, a director at Takeda Pharmaceutical, said.

Some drugmakers think that teaming up with startups will be a more viable way to get digital services off the ground. This is why MSD KK teamed up with Tokyo-based Globis Capital Partners to set up its Health Tech Program, a mentoring program for startups looking to get into the health care business.

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