• Chugai held a workshop to promote multidisciplinary team care with 21 healthcare professionals in Cambodia under collaboration with a NGO International Medical Volunteers Japan Heart.
• Chugai will continuously contribute to global health through activities leveraged the strength of the company.

TOKYO, March 13, 2020 -- Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 4519) announced that it held a workshop for medical professionals in Cambodia to promote multidisciplinary team care from February 22 to 23, 2020. The workshop was a collaboration with a non-profit organization International Medical Volunteers Japan Heart (hereinafter, Japan Heart), and held at Japan Heart Children’s Medical Center, a medical facility operated by Japan Heart in Cambodia.

The Cambodian economy has been growing fast in recent years particularly in urban areas. However, turning to the subject of health and hygiene, equal access to quality medical care still remains a challenge for reasons including the lack of healthcare professionals, knowledge on healthcare and hygiene, and organized insurance systems. One of the issues that should be addressed is how to enhance cooperation between physicians, nurses and other various healthcare professionals to deliver high quality medical care given limited human resource and facilities available in medical settings.

In order to promote multidisciplinary team care in Cambodia, Chugai held a workshop for local healthcare professionals as an approach to address this issue. Twenty-one healthcare professionals including Japanese have participated in the two-day workshop held at the medical center operated by Japan Heart. People working at the medical center felt that they were too busy with daily routines and unable to communicate with each other enough, resulting in loss of a sense of being a team. The objective of the program was to improve medical care quality through learning of problem-solving skills related to communication. Khmer members were trained on the first day and Japanese members followed on the second day. As the training on the first day was conducted in Khmer with the help of interpreters, participants were able to speak out their everyday feelings and thoughts in their native language.

In Japan, multidisciplinary team care developed particularly in oncology where more sophisticated and complicated treatments are increasingly applied. In multidisciplinary team care, those who are involved in a patient’s care share goals and information so that a range of medical professionals such as physicians, nurses, and pharmacists as well as clerical staff may work collaboratively and complementarily based on each expertise. As a leading company in oncology, Chugai has long engaged in supporting patient-centric multidisciplinary team care.

“In Chugai’s global health activities, we aim to utilize our capabilities and contribute to sustainable improvement of healthcare, particularly in low and middle-income countries. The workshop leverages our accumulated know-how in promoting multidisciplinary team care for better medical treatment in Cambodia. In other words, it embodies the philosophy of our global health activities,” said Keiji Kono, Chugai’s Senior Vice President, in charge of External Affairs Department and Global Health Policy. “Participants said that the workshop was very helpful because it provided specific know-hows to deepen communication among various professionals at the busy medical site including physicians, nurses and midwives. Countries and regions face different challenges in medical front. We will continue working on sustainable improvement of healthcare by leveraging our own strength prioritizing the local needs.”

“In Cambodia, many children with cancer experience delay in diagnosis, and in most cases there are no treatment options left when they visit our hospital. Under the difficult situations, Japan Heart colleagues are required to function as a team, while facing themselves how they can do better as individuals. They are always aware that they need communication to develop a feeling of unity as a team. I believe that the workshop gave us an opportunity to strengthen a trusting relationship among us as colleagues to support each other, regardless of whether we are medical professionals or non-medical professionals. As a result, we were able to share our innermost thoughts, including our belief; All medical care is for patients. I hope that the workshop serves as a springboard for us to form a mature team in which strong interpersonal support can be fostered,” commented Dr. Haruna Yoshioka, Chairperson of International Medical Volunteers Japan Heart and a pediatrician.

Chugai places “strengthen sustainable platform” as one of the key strategies in its mid-term business plan IBI 21. Healthcare access is one of the six areas that we focus to achieve the goal. Chugai we will continue our initiatives to contribute to global health.

[Workshop for promoting multidisciplinary team care in Cambodia]
Workshop details
Date: February 22 and 23, 2020
Participants: 21 local physicians, nurses, and other medical personnel
(13 Khmer and eight Japanese)
Place: Japan Heart Children’s Medical Center (Kandal, Cambodia)
Objective: Improve medical care quality through problem-solving skills in communication.

Feedback from participants

• Dr. Maiko Kojiro, board member/medical doctor/hospital project director, Japan Heart
  At first, it was uncertain if our staff members, particularly Cambodian members, would actively participate in the training. In fact, all participants became fully aware of the issue, and their proactive attitudes toward the training somewhat surprised us, providing an opportunity to see them in a new light. We will take advantage of the learning from the training by putting the skills acquired into practice so that our members can communicate in a smooth and effective manner, to bring benefits to patients.
• Ms. Sainy Mariyam, nurse, Japan Heart Children’s Medical Center
  I sometimes experience difficulty in communication with co-workers due to differences in language and positions. I participated in the workshop to improve communication skills, which are of utmost importance for medical professionals who have patients’ lives in hands. I learned how to communicate and build a relationship in the workshop. Above all, we were able to better understand each other as colleagues. I think I can utilize the skills learned not only at workplace, but also in everyday personal relationships.

[References]
1) Chugai’s initiative for global health
To contribute to global health, Chugai supports Global Health Innovative Technology Fund (GHIT Fund) whose goal is to control infection in developing countries, and Access Accelerated (AA) that addresses non-infectious diseases in low and middle-income countries. Please refer to the following website for Chugai’s Basic Approach to Global Health.
https://www.chugai-pharm.co.jp/english/sustainability/globalhealth/concept.html

2) Chugai’s five strengths
Chugai has identified “five strengths” to help stakeholders recognize and understand the source of its unique value. These strengths were selected through evaluation and analysis from the perspective of patient value and competitive advantage, based on quantitative, comparable information and data. One of the strengths is “Provision of advanced patient-centric solutions.” Chugai has established a system for providing solutions that can be precisely adapted to diverse needs in different regions, backed by industry-leading safety management and a high level of expertise in each disease area. Our efforts to promote multidisciplinary team care and regional healthcare coordination receive strong support from healthcare providers. Please refer to the following website for more information on Chugai’s Five Strengths
https://www.chugai-pharm.co.jp/english/profile/strengths/index.html