By NAOYUKI HIMENO/ Staff Writer
April 3, 2020 at 19:00 JST
A doctor explains the online medical examination system in Tohoku University Hospital in Sendai in November 2019. The woman on the computer screen is an official of the company that developed the online system. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Patients in Japan are closer to having initial medical checks online for illnesses as part of efforts by health authorities to protect the public amid the outbreak of the new coronavirus.
A health ministry panel agreed on April 2 to allow patients who have provided their medical information with hospitals where they have been treated to undergo initial exams online via video apps on their smartphones or computers.
Patients seeking consultations regarding injuries and other specific illnesses are excluded from the service for now, and will still have to rely on visiting a hospital for their initial checkup.
The panel proposed the changes only for the duration of the coronavirus outbreak.
The new online option also aims to give relief to patients of doctors whose medical practices are restricted due to infection with the coronavirus.
They will be able to access doctors online from their first meeting if their doctors provide the patients' medical information.
The panel also discussed patients who had not seen doctors previously and have not provided their medical information with a medical institution, with special consideration given to young people.
In such cases, ministry officials first proposed that online health exams be allowed for them only in areas of Japan where the system becomes unable to provide outpatient medical services due to sharp increases in the number of patients.
But the idea was shelved for now after multiple experts on the panel demanded stricter conditions.
The ministry reported the panel’s opinions to the government’s Regulatory Reform Promotion Council on April 3.
The ministry from now plans to hold discussions to decide details including the scope of online checkups.
Currently, patients can consult doctors online for later medical exams, but must see one in person for their first except in some cases, including smoking cessation programs.
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