"The Medical Program for International Promotion of Japan’s Healthcare Technologies and Services for Rheumatic Diseases"* is a project promoted by the Department of Internal Medicine (Rheumatology) at Keio University Hospital and adopted by the National Center for Global Health and Medicine. By supporting this project and playing a role in industry-government-academia collaboration, Chugai aims to contribute to the realization and quality improvement of sustainable rheumatoid arthritis treatment in Indonesia.
Please see here for past activities.

With the spread of COVID-19 infection, telemedicine has made great strides. In addition, with the advancement of 5G, VR technology, and sensing technology, efforts to apply digital technology to medical treatment are expanding all over the world. Against this backdrop, in FY2021, we conducted a web seminar entitled "The Future of Digital Health Symposium in Japan and Indonesia" for Indonesian medical professionals. The seminar’s theme was "digital health," and the goal was learning about advanced rheumatology care.

With more than 50 medical professionals in attendance, we introduced the current trends in digital health around the world and case studies of initiatives in both Indonesia and Japan. As both countries are islands, there are high expectations and needs for online medical services, and the seminar was an opportunity for both sides to share values and learn from each other's approaches to the next challenge, such as how to enhance online medical services.

Contents of the lecture "The Future of Digital Health Symposium in Japan and Indonesia”

Global trend of Digital Technologies in Healthcare and the Challenge of Chugai
(Yoshito Nakanishi, Head, Digital Strategy Division, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co.)

While digital transformation and the development of digital therapies are advancing in the healthcare industry worldwide including in Japan, the cost of drug discovery and development continues to rise, and there is a need to improve efficiency through the use of digital technologies. Chugai has formulated the "CHUGAI DIGITAL VISION 2030" and aims to transform its own business through digital technology and provide healthcare solutions that will change society. In addition to the strategies of "strengthen the digital platform", "Optimize all value chains," and "Digital transformation for drug discovery and development", he also spoke about the collaboration in developing digital biomarkers. For more information about CHUGAI DIGITAL VISION 2030, please click here.

Experience of an Online Medical Service in Indonesia
(Alomedika Dr. Andi Marsali)

After explaining the challenges in Indonesia, such as the small number of doctors per population, the large disparity between regions, and the progress of actual patients, he introduced the efforts of online medical services. He also spoke about the increased demand after the COVID-19 pandemic and the improvement of benefits through the AI analysis of data.

The reality and future of next-generation online RA telemedicine using mixed reality and artificial intelligence
(Dr. Shinya Kawashiri, MD, PhD, Department of Community Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences / Department of Immunology and Rheumatology, Nagasaki University Hospital)

Nagasaki Prefecture has many isolated islands and remote areas, a declining birthrate, and an aging population. There are many challenges in delivering a high standard of rheumatology medical care, such as the chronic shortage of medical personnel, medical disparity with urban areas (uneven distribution of doctors), and increasing demand for chronic and home care. In addition, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid increase in demand for ICT in medicine and telemedicine. With the aim of solving these social issues, we have developed NURAS, the world's first telemedicine support system for rheumatology that utilizes mixed reality (MR) technology. Dr. Kawashiri gave a lecture on actual examples of rheumatology treatment using the cutting-edge technology.

Comment by Dr. Katsuya Suzuki, Department of Internal Medicine (Rheumatology), Keio University
We started this project with a lot of trial and error, but over the past four years, thanks to the enthusiasm of the local people and the cooperation of many individuals, we have been able to achieve unprecedented results. Although the pandemic had an impact, we were able to promote the project vigorously even remotely because we had already established relationships with the local community. In addition to online training in various locations, a total of 27 videos for local doctors, including 9 for patients, and 4 disease guidelines have been developed through the project, sand some of them are available on the website of the Indonesian Rheumatism Association (IRA). On the other hand, there are still few materials for pharmacists and nurses, and we feel that it is difficult for them to realize the importance of multi-professional collaboration and team-based care through online training alone.

This web seminar on the theme of "Digital Health" was a great opportunity to realize that technology will greatly improve the future of medicine. Further in-depth discussion is needed on how to use the technology and link it to practice in rheumatology in Indonesia.

After the pandemic is over, we will continue to contribute to the development of rheumatology in Indonesia by conducting face-to-face training visits to solve issues in line with local needs.”

* This is a project in which the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare supports the international expansion of medical institutions and companies with the aim of "international contribution in the medical field" through the National Center for Global Health and Medicine. Keio University applied for the first time in 2018 and the project was adopted as the "The Medical Program for International Promotion of Japan’s Healthcare Technologies and Services for Rheumatic Disease".