Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2023 October, 261(2)

The Relationship between the Distribution of Home Medical Clinics and Home Care Service Offices in Japan

Takashi Kuwayama¹

¹Division of Community and Family Medicine, Center for Community Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Shimotsuke, Tochigi, Japan.

The increasing number of older people in Japan has led to a need for cooperation between home medical and care services. The collaboration between medical and care provisions in home settings is thus a matter for concern. The present study examines the distribution of and relationship between the number of home medical clinics (HMCs) and home care service offices (HCOs) in Japan. We used national data, detailing the total population, percentage of older adults, and number of HMCs and HCOs. Overall, 23,428 HMCs and 35,612 HCOs were identified nationwide. While the southwestern region of Japan had a high number of HMCs relative to the northeastern region, there was not such a clear difference in the regional distribution of number of HCOs. A linear regression analyses, adjusted for the percentage of older people, revealed a significant positive correlation between the number of HMCs per 10,000 older people and HCOs per 10,000 older people (β = 0.58, p < 0.001). These findings may allow us to understand advances in cooperation between home medical and care services in Japan.

Key words —— aging population; home care service; home medical-care support clinics; home-visit care

© 2023 Tohoku University Medical Press

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Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2023 October, 261(2), 173-177.

Correspondence: Kazuhiko Kotani, M.D., Ph.D., Division of Community and Family Medicine, Center for Community Medicine, Jichi Medical University, 3311-1 Yakushiji, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0498, Japan.

e-mail: kazukotani@jichi.ac.jp