Japan: Japan faces the issue of medical shortages in depopulated areas. Here is an example of a hospital that successfully addressed the problem in what was once a “doctorless area.” Matsuo Emergency Clinic in Minamikyushu City, Kagoshima Prefecture, is located away from urban centers but has managed to secure eight doctors. This hospital’s strategy includes having doctors commute by plane, no overtime, and offering salaries higher than the average. They achieved this by increasing their profit margins, making these benefits possible. Let me introduce another example in Hokkaido. Hokkaido is facing two medical accessibility problems: medical shortages which are seen outside Sapporo and Asahikawa, and the declining number of doctors pursuing internal and surgical medicine, partly due to the relatively high risk of litigation, causing a geographic imbalance. One solution highlighted by Yomiuri newspaper is the training of “general practitioners”. Since GPs have knowledge in multiple medical fields, they can people. According to the French government, approximately 30% of the population lives in these medical desert areas. In fact, 60% of them concentrated in the north-central part of France. Furthermore, the previously mentioned “GP system” is not accessible to everyone, with more than 6 million people lacking a GP. Sadly, 1.6 million people are forced to give up on treatment or diagnosis each year under these circumstances. So, why do medical deserts occur? The fundamental cause is a shortage of doctors. The aging population of medical personnel is not being replaced by a sufficient number of young doctors. On top of that, young doctors tend to seek convenience and thus concentrate in urban areas. This brings about a decrease in healthcare workers in rural areas. According to Euro-news, the shortage of doctors in depopulated areas is particularly severe. In the rural village of Rodez in France, the psychiatric ward had to reduce the number of patients accepted in the summer due to a lack of medical staff. Moreover, This newsletter highlighted the medical access issues in Japan and France. Both countries face similar challenges, and prompt action is needed to ensure everyone can live peacefully. By in the neighboring town, they couldn’t cover all specialties, resulting in stroke patients having to wait several months to get appointments with therapists and ophthalmologists.treat a broader range of patients and diagnose and treat multiple conditions more quickly. The Hokkaido Center for Family Medicine is expanding its bases annually to train more doctors, aiming to address this shortage. France: On the other hand, in France, the government allocated an additional budget of 3.4 billion euros to “medical reform” efforts between 2019 and 2022. Specific measures included hiring 400 general practitioners in public hospitals in depopulated areas, providing support funds for doctors aspiring to open their practices in rural areas, offering scholarships conditional on practicing in rural areas, and promoting online consultation.In the rural city of Nevers, France, an institution called “Flying Doctor” was established. This initiative involves dispatching doctors by plane, similar to efforts seen in Japan. The city covers the cost of over 100,000 yen per round trip per doctor. They have also collaborated with airports to offer free parking and tax exemptions.sharing and implementing successful measures from different countries, we might find effective ways to improve medical access and provide better healthcare for all. 4 Efforts to Overcome the Current Situation Summary
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