New disaster communications system for Japan's hospitals
15-Dec-15, The Japan News
The Japanese government will begin developing a new communications service to facilitate the transportation of patients to core hospitals in times of disaster.
%20The%20Yomiuri%20Shimbun.jpg "New disaster communications system for Japans hospitals (c) The Yomiuri Shimbun")
The move comes after it was found that many core disaster medical centers were not equipped with satellite data communications systems, which would cause a number of problems if they had to accept patients after a major disaster occurs.
According to a report published by the Board of Audit in 2013, 50% of 624 core disaster hospitals possessed satellite communications systems for use in times of emergency. A survey conducted in 2015 by the Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry shows that only Tokyo and seven prefectures stipulated satellite data communications systems as a means of communications for core medical institutions in an emergency.