ASOURCE Times

Supporting women's health promotion as an obstetrician and gynecologist

There is a personal experience behind my passion for health management activities for general women, not just for outpatient care. Shortly after I became a doctor, a teammate of a softball team I was a member of, asked me to see him because he was bleeding. After casually undertaking a medical examination, I was found to have advanced cervical cancer. After three years of various treatments, she passed away, leaving behind a six-year-old daughter. I regretted that I might have been saved if I had been consulted earlier. At that time, little was known about how to prevent cervical cancer with a vaccine.
The 20s to 50s is the time when a woman shines the most in her life. However, women in this age range suffer from symptoms related to female hormones such as menstrual pain and PMS (premenstrual syndrome) on a daily basis, as well as suffering from life events such as pregnancy, childbirth, and child rearing. Women are also at greater risk of life-threatening breast and uterine cancer than men. I have been thinking for a long time about whether it is possible to change the medical behavior of women who are reluctant to face these pitfalls. I want you to know in advance the pitfalls that come with each age group, and fill those pitfalls by yourself using methods such as "improving lifestyle habits" and "preventing diseases (examinations)," making the road flat and running vigorously. When I wanted to provide that support (health management), I felt that it would be too late if I waited for the women at the outpatient clinic.
In the first place, I feel that it is very difficult for ordinary people, especially those of the working generation, to see a medical institution, even if I look back on my own work style and medical behavior. If it is difficult for people of the working generation to come to medical institutions, I have no choice but to leave the hospital. This has led to lectures for women in general and information dissemination through SNS (Social Networking Service).

Checking the patient's understanding is the first step in management

When giving a lecture, I am particularly conscious of whether or not the content I want to talk about is properly conveyed to the other person. This is because what I am aiming for through my lecture activities is to change the behavior of women. While chatting with friends, I always hope that they will be motivated enough to say things like, "I went to a lecture by Dr. Takao and learned about the importance of cervical cancer screening, so I took it the other day." I'm here. In order to do so, it is more important than anything to have the other person understand me, rather than just having my story heard.
I think this is also true in the management of daily medical activities. If patients do not understand their own illnesses and medical conditions, and the medical care that is being given to them, they will not be able to make proactive choices when choosing treatment methods. If you do not have a sense of satisfaction that you made the choice, you will not be able to proactively and consistently engage in treatment, and you will not be able to take responsibility in your own way if something goes wrong.
On the other hand, when explaining to patients, it is important for medical professionals to have the awareness that they are talking in order to have the other person understand. Until now, medical professionals have not been required to make such efforts, but in order to build a relationship of trust with patients and increase their satisfaction, it is important to get them involved proactively. I think that is essential. We, medical professionals, pay attention to the patient's level of understanding, which is the basis of independence in daily medical care, and we also want to consider "whether what we have said is properly conveyed to the other person." . It can be said that it is the first step in health management for patients.

Healthcare workers have a great impact on the lives and lives of patients

Through SNS, I actively transmit information to an unspecified number of people. This is because we believe that if health and medical information is rained down on a daily basis, it can be useful to someone who needs it. Also, even if a serious illness is found, I would like to tell them what they can do in the future and face them with a positive attitude.
I feel that no matter what kind of important information, not just health/medical information, if there is no interest in the receiving side, nothing will resonate. I also feel the significance of In that respect, there are quite a few patients who have had a shocking experience in the field of acute care, so they take the medical advice as a matter of personal concern and change their lifestyle habits and behavior. I think it's very likely that they will change it. And what draws out that possibility is the individual words of medical staff who speak to patients whose lives have been saved and are on their way to recovery. I think it will have a huge impact on your life.
In addition, such efforts will change patients' impressions of medical professionals and medical institutions, leading to gaining their trust. It is important for an acute care hospital to have cutting-edge medical equipment and facilities, but in medical care, which is based on a relationship of trust with patients, the assets of an organization are its people. I guess. I believe that having staff members who are trusted by patients is an irreplaceable value for an organization.

Anticipating coexistence with AI and discovering new value for medical personnel

In recent years, the movement called "Femtech (Female + Technology)," which uses the power of technology to solve various health issues in women's life stages, has become active. There are also predictions that it will become a yen-scale market. Femtech products include an app that notifies menstrual prediction dates and ovulation dates, absorbent menstrual shorts, online support from doctors and midwives, test kits that estimate ovarian reserve, training items for pelvic floor muscles, etc. Various products and services are being developed and sold with an awareness of health and comfortable living.
The evolution of technology itself is a great blessing, and it is a major premise to use that power, but it is important to prevent us humans from being manipulated by technology. In the utilization of femtech, it is very important that the products and services are not only useful for users to improve their own lives and can be used comfortably, but also economically reasonable so that the products and services can be used continuously. I think so.
Technology will continue to develop, and will have a major impact on the roles and work styles of medical professionals in the future. For example, in diagnosis, which is the main job of doctors, various research groups are developing diagnostic imaging systems using AI (artificial intelligence). In addition, some research groups have successfully performed surgery for uterine fibroids using AI. It seems that the day when AI will perform diagnosis and surgery on a daily basis will come in the not too distant future. With so many areas being replaced by AI, what only doctors (humans) can do is "the ability to capture the emotions of patients."
In my daily outpatient care, I feel that about 20% of cases require a doctor's specialized skills. In the remaining 80% of cases, we are required to act as a generalist, which includes the role of a gatekeeper who connects them to the appropriate clinical department (specialist). As we try to coexist with AI, I think that acute hospitals, which are a group of specialists, will be asked how to develop generalists with comprehensive capabilities and how to utilize them.
In the upcoming technology age, in order for doctors and other medical personnel to survive, we must constantly think about the areas that AI cannot handle. This will unintentionally lead to a reassessment of the original role of medical professionals and the discovery of new values for ourselves.