Health screening and comprehensive medical check-ups
Tokushukai Information System introduces a PHR service for screening participants
Public launch planned within this fiscal year
Tokushukai Information System, Inc. (TIS) has begun work on a Personal Health Record (PHR) service for people receiving health screening and comprehensive medical check-ups. A PHR allows individuals to manage their own medical and health information and access it at any time. In this service, screening results are stored on dedicated servers and can be viewed from smartphones and other devices. In subsequent years, participants can follow changes over time whichever Tokushukai hospital they visit, with some exceptions. This convenient tool supports personal health management. It is currently being trialled by Group staff, with minor adjustments planned before a public launch within this fiscal year.
Staff from the Web Business Section of TIS's Development Department who developed the PHR service; Section Chief Shinno is in the centre
The screening PHR began at three hospitals in April and had expanded to about 30 by mid-August. Further rollout is planned to 59 Group hospitals using the common EMR and health screening systems.
TIS President Katsuhiko Ozaki says: “Results are easy to view online, and there is no risk of losing them because the data is held on dedicated PHR servers. Results can also be displayed chronologically regardless of which Group hospital you visit, provided it uses our common systems, making it easy to check your health. We hope people will use this to improve their health.”
Overall assessment page, showing five years of results on a computer
After a check-up at a Tokushukai hospital, the participant scans the QR code on the results report mailed to them using a smartphone camera. The registration screen asks for their regular hospital, patient card number, date of birth, email address and the serial number in the guidance material. They set a password and can use the service once authenticated.
The results display adapts to computers, smartphones, tablets and other screen sizes. It shows up to five years of overall assessments for standard items and detailed values, findings and assessments. Reports can also be exported as PDFs. After a year has passed since a check-up, a reminder appears after login to encourage another appointment.
Detailed results by item on a smartphone; swiping reveals earlier results
Ozaki explains the motivation: “A company with offices across Japan asked for a way for employees to view and manage their screening results centrally even after transferring to another location. We also saw that it could deliver results more quickly to overseas patients visiting for medical tourism, so we began development.”
In the future, TIS hopes to develop a comprehensive PHR including clinical data, supporting health management and lower medical costs. Plans also include optional test items and additional PHR value through AI, such as advice tailored to each participant on improving lifestyle habits based on screening results.
Taichiro Shinno, Section Chief in the Web Business Section of TIS's Development Department, says: “The service is currently for Tokushukai staff, but we plan to open it to the public within this fiscal year. About 600,000 people receive screening and comprehensive check-ups at Group hospitals each year. We want to make the service convenient for our staff and, after the public launch, useful to many more people.”
TIS is also developing AI reception services to assist visitors and provide guidance and explanations. If successful, these could be applied in a range of healthcare settings.
Source: Tokushukai Newspaper, 19 August 2019, No. 1198