Healthcare Data Science Research Unit

In Japan, a super-aging society with declining birth rates, investment for health and well-being has become increasingly important with the inherent structural challenges of rising social security spending and declining productivity resulting from the diminishing working-age population. In the Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform 2016, two policy agendas were set: to improve the nation’s Quality of Life by utilizing Data Health1 introduced in the National Health Insurance, and to enhance productivity by closely cooperating with businesses’ Health and Productivity Management2. Furthermore, in the Policy 2017, Data Health is positioned as an infrastructure contributing to regional vitalization. Our research unit aims to improve the feasibility and quality of health policies by visualizing health issues through Data Health and by understanding the trend of its effective solutions.

1）A preventative medical approach in Japan consists of the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) cycle, where medical insurers use medical checkup and receipt data etc. Implementation by medical insurers was set forth in the Japan Revitalization Strategy 2013.

2）A new management strategy aiming to enhance productivity through investment in the health of employees, an important management resource, to improve employee motivation and to create a highly creative system. Promotion of this system was included in the 2014 revision of the Japan Revitalization Strategy.

Advancing research on the standardization of Data Health will contribute towards the planning and implementation of solutions for health issues. This will improve operation and effects of preventive services by medical insurers, enterprises and local governments. Furthermore, by verifying Data Health at the national level, policy proposals will be made on the state of health policies and the most suitable distribution of related resources.