The corporate health insurance unions of 18 major Japanese companies have agreed to form a consortium to offer remote outpatient treatment to assist their members in quitting smoking.
The unions, which have a combined 580,000 members, are facing financial difficulties and need to cut down on smoking-related medical costs. The consortium aims to reduce the smoking rate by 5% by 2020, in time for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics. This translates to around 30,000 less smokers covered by company health schemes.
Due to a rapidly aging population, health insurers in Japan are in dire straits financially, and reducing the number of smokers is seen as a potential lifeline, as the health risks associated with smoking greatly drive up medical costs.
Among the consortium’s members are Nissan Motors, Japan Airlines, Recruit Holdings, Nomura Securities, Kao Corporation, and Konica Minolta, according to a report by Mainichi.
In July, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare issued approval for completely remote outpatient treatment programs for smokers, as long as it is provided by insurers such as corporate health insurance unions. This means that members no longer need to have face-to-face examinations by doctors as part of the program, as many companies with operations in rural areas lack access to medical facilities that offer outpatient treatment for smokers.
The remote treatment program involves a doctor examining a patient using a smartphone or a computer four times in eight weeks, and anti-smoking medication will be sent to the patient’s residence or workplace. Nurses and other medical staff will provide support online or through phone, making sure that the patient refrains from smoking throughout the program duration. It will embark on a test run this autumn, and full-scale operations are expected to begin next year.
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