#Japan #Osaka #Home Healthcare #eWeLL #Care Log

eWeLL Enhances 'Care Log' to Accelerate Nationwide Patient-Centered Home Healthcare

In a significant move set to transform the landscape of home healthcare in Japan, eWeLL, a company specializing in digital transformation (DX) support for home medical care, has announced a major enhancement to its free community care platform, 'Care Log'. From May 2025, it will expand its functionalities to meet the urgent social demands of integrated community care as defined by national policies.

Understanding the Patient-Centered Home Healthcare System

For many patients and their families, questions about home care—such as "What is home nursing?"—remain unanswered. A lack of accessible information can lead to suboptimal choices in care options. One home discharge coordinator encapsulates the sentiment:

"What we truly wish for is to entrust our patients to facilities that respect their future lives and strive to provide the best care."

This hope lies at the heart of the national vision for a patient-centered home healthcare system, yet substantial barriers remain to achieving this ideal.

Structural Challenges in Japanese Healthcare

Japan's healthcare system is currently facing structural challenges, with an increasingly aged population leading to greater demand for medical services. At the same time, a critical shortage of healthcare professionals means that many individuals cannot receive appropriate medical care when needed. For instance, discharge coordinators often handle as many as 40 patients in a month, leading to burnout and inefficiencies.

In this context, many communications rely still on outdated methods like fax and phone calls. To overcome this situation and truly deliver patient-centered care, we must identify what is necessary for transformative change.

In response, the government has initiated measures to enhance information sharing and improve the quality of care through medical DX, emphasizing the transparency of medical information as a national policy.

With the 2024 revision of medical fees, there is a growing emphasis on assessing information sharing and high-quality care delivery, which will now require healthcare facilities to publish vital information on their websites. This marks a significant step towards a society where patients and families can actively pursue the information needed to make informed choices.

The Evolution of 'Care Log'

In alignment with these large policy shifts and pressing needs from healthcare providers, eWeLL has continuously developed the 'Care Log' platform. With the upcoming enhancements, 'Care Log' aims to provide not just a facility search tool but a robust social infrastructure that supports Japan’s healthcare system from the ground up, ensuring smiles for patients, families, and healthcare workers alike.

Expanding Availability to 100,000 Facilities

'Care Log' will now cover information from over 100,000 medical institutions, home care service providers, and nursing stations across the country, making it easier than ever for users to access a broad spectrum of healthcare resources. This free-to-use platform will evolve to provide:
1. Clear visibility of local medical resources
2. Quick discovery of optimal care options
3. Information on availability
4. Connectivity when it matters most

Key Features of the Enhanced 'Care Log'

• - Comprehensive Information and Intuitive Search: The upgraded platform will feature detailed information about hospitals, clinics (with specialty searches), nursing stations, and care providers, allowing users to find precisely what fits their needs.
• - Promoting Information Disclosure: Home nursing stations can now easily publish critical documents like operational rules and rate lists online, meeting the demands of 2024’s medical fee revisions without incurring additional costs or logistical burdens.

A New Era of Patient-Centered Care

By ensuring better information sharing, 'Care Log' will help maintain continuity in healthcare delivery, enabling patients to locate the local medical and care resources that align with their needs. It acts as a bridge connecting healthcare facilities, home nursing services, care managers, and families, thereby proactively supporting the government’s vision of a patient-centered home healthcare system and enhancing the overall quality of community healthcare.

Looking Ahead

Ultimately, the goal is to eliminate inefficiencies that burden the system, freeing healthcare and care workers to focus on their expertise. Furthermore, 'Care Log' aims to empower patients and their families to make confident choices based on comprehensive information, ensuring they can live their lives with peace of mind. This is the future eWeLL strives to realize through 'Care Log'.

For more information, visit Care Log.