Innovating Home Care: Integrating Ict for Sustainable Healthcare

Abeni K, Zauna M and Chika F

Published on: 2024-11-30

Abstract

Japan is a super-aged society with a low birth rate and a rapidly declining population. The shortage of the working population is also accelerating at a detrimental rate. The ongoing shortage of healthcare workers is particularly severe in local areas, and this issue is also evident in larger cities where an aging population will peak soon, exacerbating the already overwhelming demand for healthcare services.

Given the current healthcare worker shortage, integrating ICT, including IoT and online medicine, is not just a choice but a necessity for providing sustainable healthcare for all generations. The effectiveness of this approach was starkly evident during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper provides an overview of the development and current state of home care medicine in Japan, the utilization of ICT and Telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic, and prospects for its sustainable provision of home care integrating ICT and telemedicine in the coming decades.