ASOURCE Times

As chronic diseases increase,
Improving emotional value is the essence of medical care

I opened Tajimi Smart Clinic in February 2021 with the aim of "creating new value in medical care." Until then, I was working as an orthopedic surgeon in the emergency center of a university hospital, when I realized, "I feel a sense of accomplishment, but the staff don't seem to be having fun because they are so caught up in how busy I am. Is the medical care I am pursuing making those around me unhappy?"

So we decided to reexamine the value of healthcare. Until now, healthcare has pursued "functional value." This includes the quality of diagnosis, testing, and treatment, as well as operations (systems and procedures) to increase work efficiency. However, there is also something called "emotional value" in healthcare value. This is the needs of patients: what do they want through treatment and recuperation, and what do they want to do after they have recovered from their illness. It seemed to me that many medical institutions were not conscious of increasing this emotional value.

However, with the arrival of a super-aging society and the increase in chronic diseases such as cancer, lifestyle-related diseases, and dementia, I felt that it was more important than ever to provide emotional value, and that increasing this value was the essence of medical care.To achieve this goal, I set the mission of "contributing to society by delivering connections to guests (patients and families) through medical services," and began providing medical services from a completely new perspective with colleagues who agreed with my ideas.

To respect each other
From "Staff" to "Partner"

Our clinic was named "Smart Clinic" because we created our medical concept based on the image of smartphone functions. We place our medical functions on a platform that can be installed and uninstalled like a smartphone, and our motto is to provide medical care that is needed in the community at the time. When we first opened, our specialty departments were orthopedics, gastroenterology, and diabetic medicine, but have since changed to orthopedics, dermatology, otolaryngology, and home medical care in response to needs.

We also reviewed the relationships between medical workers. As medical care becomes more advanced and complex, teamwork is essential. To reflect this reality, we now refer to workers as "partners" instead of "staff," so that each profession can fulfill their role and respect each other.

On the other hand, we call patients, their families, and those around them "guests." We value "delivering connections" to our guests as an emotional value. Even in rural areas, connections with people are becoming increasingly weak. Lack of communication increases the risk of various diseases such as dementia, so we thought that preventing this would contribute to local medical care. For example, we organize bus excursions for guests who have undergone artificial joint replacement surgery. We started this because many people have become able to walk, but have no one to go out with. Providing such connections is something that any profession can do, and when partners feel that they are providing value, their own well-being improves and they can work with enthusiasm.

To work with people who want to work
Utilizing medical digital transformation as a useful tool

Our clinic is proactively adopting medical digital transformation, not only improving work efficiency but also creating new ways of working. For example, we currently have four partners working as "online nurses," who support patients with interviews and medical assistants with entering data into electronic medical records, and they live in Sendai, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Los Angeles.

The introduction of online nursing was triggered by a nurse who was unable to work locally due to family circumstances. Online work went well, so we advertised and received an application from Los Angeles. We found that it is easier to balance work with childcare and housework overseas, where there is a time difference, than in Japan.

From experiences like this, I have come to realize that "medical care is all about people." We have introduced medical digital transformation to reduce labor costs and streamline operations, but we believe that by using it as a convenient tool to work with people who want to work, our clinic's medical system will evolve even further. Our clinic also focuses on social media, with the main purpose of recruiting. When we post our thoughts and goals on social media, partners who sympathize with us will apply.

Our clinic started from my simple question, but I believe we are taking on the challenge of making a difference in the future of medical care. Currently, following Tajimi, we are running smart clinics with a similar concept in Kyoto and Komaki. In the future, we aim to franchise to about 100 facilities nationwide. I believe that the new concept we have created will take hold and finally change the nature of regional medical care, and the relationships and working styles of medical professionals.