Key to Solving Manpower Shortage: AI Transformation of Healthcare in Japan
When exploring the Japanese market, HPB Hi-Tech has come into contact with many institutions and organizations, actively discussing the potential applications for HPB’s AI products such as the high-privacy AI intelligent care system, Ezcaring P1. Through this, they have discovered that Japan has a high level of interest and expectation in digital transformation, data science, AI, and other assisted care methods.
Japan is a leading country in terms of aging population, with a senior population over 65 years old reaching 36 million, 1.6 times the total population of Taiwan. With the rapid aging of the population, the shortage of caregivers has become more prominent. Therefore, both the Japanese government and private sector recognize that promoting the application of technological products to improve the shortage of manpower is an indispensable solution. Among them, “accelerating the application of AI” is listed as one of the key policies. How does the Japanese government and private sector cooperate to enable AI to play a role in practical fields? What can Taiwan, which faces similar aging issues, learn from this?
According to a survey by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, “shortage of manpower in the workplace” is the most troublesome issue for caregivers, accounting for 65%. On the other hand, in a survey of institutional managers, as many as 50% of managers experienced a shortage of manpower in 2020. This shows that the shortage of caregivers is one of the primary issues faced by labor and management.
The “Social Security and Work Style Reform 2040” proposed by the Japanese government explicitly states that “making good use of AI and other technologies” is one of the important keys to reforming medical care. In order to encourage long-term care units to make good use of new technologies to improve care issues, relevant units can apply to the government for subsidies for various hardware with AI, from environment detection to AI recognition and semantic understanding. In addition, the Japanese government is actively promoting the development of relevant laws and standards to ensure the safety and reliability of AI in the field of care.
On the private enterprise side, large companies, startups, and research institutions in Japan are all very actively involved in AI research and applications in the care field. For example, Olympus Corporation, a well-known medical technology company in Japan, has developed an AI system that can track and display a patient’s vital signs in real-time during surgery. In addition, Japanese startups have also developed a series of AI-based care services and equipment, such as smart nursing beds and intelligent nursing robots.
From Japan’s experience, we can see the application and development of AI technology in the care field, which can not only improve the quality and efficiency of care but also alleviate the shortage of caregivers. Taiwan, as a country facing aging issues, can learn from Japan’s experience and promote the application and development of AI technology in the care field, in order to better meet the needs of the elderly…
