By RIHITO KARUBE/ Staff Writer
August 31, 2020 at 17:20 JST
Health centers in Tokyo will soon have a new tool at their disposal to check on COVID-19 patients recovering at home in the capital.
The Tokyo metropolitan government is introducing a new health checkup service through Line Corp.’s popular free messaging app. It is aimed at making the process easier for both patients and health care workers.
The service will be available starting on Sept. 1 for some patients infected with the novel coronavirus recovering at home, officials said.
The Tama Tachikawa health center, which is responsible for six cities in the western part of Tokyo, including Tachikawa city, will be the first to start using the service with its patients.
Officials from the Tokyo metropolitan government, which announced the details on Aug. 28., said the plan is to expand the service across the capital after that.
The government has been requesting that patients who have the virus, and show either mild or no symptoms, isolate themselves at accommodation facilities. But some patients, such as parents raising their children at home, prefer to recover in their own homes.
Health centers call those patients twice a day to check on their condition, which has grown into a burdensome administrative task and can be troublesome for patients as well.
The new Line service will send various health queries to the patients, such as, “Do you have red eyes?” and “Do you have an appetite?” Patients can then respond either yes or no, officials explained.
When health center officials identify through the service that someone’s condition may be worsening, they will call the patients to check on them in greater detail.
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An image showing the new health checkup system on the Line messaging app (Provided by Tokyo metropolitan government)
