The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on the 12th that it will expand the "medical information exchange project," which supports sharing patients' medical records among medical institutions, across the medical field and move to improve it to raise its utility in actual care.
The medical information exchange project is a system that allows medical institutions to directly check a patient's medical records through a network when the patient transfers to another hospital and use them for care. Patients who consent to participate in the project do not need to receive their medical records on paper and submit them.
There are 10,332 medical institutions participating in the project now, surpassing 10,000 for the first time since the project began. The number of medical records shared through the medical information exchange system last year, including imaging data, totaled about 1.81 million.
However, only about 600 medical institutions can share imaging information such as computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Critics note that participation has been slow because additional deployment of electronic medical records (EMR) and picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) is needed to share imaging information.
The ministry plans to promote a project to spread medical information exchange to medical institutions starting in April. It will encourage participation by linking it with policies that require cooperation among hospitals, such as the support project for restructuring tertiary general hospitals and the comprehensive second-phase support project. Medical institutions can also participate individually through their electronic medical record developers.
System improvements will proceed in parallel. The ministry plans to strengthen functions that support joint care between medical staff in underserved areas and partner hospitals, and to bolster personal information protection and security management to prevent leaks or misdelivery of medical records.
At the same time, it will expand linkage with public services that electronically submit medical records for administrative procedures such as military service determinations, industrial accident determinations, and disability reviews. It said this will reduce the inconvenience of people having to obtain copies of medical records from hospitals and submit them to multiple agencies.
The ministry plans to refine procedures for linking with public services after a demand survey and to gradually expand the scope of use of the medical information exchange.