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Healthcare and The Environment: Environmental Changes and Health in Medical Practice <span>What changes should we expect from work style reforms for doctors?</span>

Healthcare and The Environment: Environmental Changes and Health in Medical Practice What changes should we expect from work style reforms for doctors?

2024年3月27日 ,

Since 2019, different industries across Japan have begun implementing upper limit regulations on overtime and holiday working hours under the “Work Style Reform Act.” A five-year grace period was given to the medical industry, with the Revised Medical Law enacted in 2021. After three years of preparation, overtime and holiday working for doctors will be limited from April 1 this year to no more than 960 hours a year, with some exceptions depending on the type of medical institution. What changes will this bring about for physicians working in the clinical field and what does it mean for those of us using the medical system?

In this edition of the COSMO newsletter, we take a closer look at issues facing the medical industry in 2024 and how to respond to them, with input from Dr. Jun Itami of Shin-Matsudo Central General Hospital. Read on to the end for Dr. Itami’s full profile.

岩下裕司Healthcare and The Environment: Environmental Changes and Health in Medical Practice What changes should we expect from work style reforms for doctors?
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Health Care and The Environment: The Risks Posed by Climate Change <span>How should the healthcare industry respond?</span>

Health Care and The Environment: The Risks Posed by Climate Change How should the healthcare industry respond?

2023年10月31日 ,

Health issues caused by the rising temperatures associated with climate change have increased dramatically in recent years. Record heat waves in Europe caused more than 60,000 deaths last year, while a sharp increase in climate disasters such as floods and droughts in Africa have led to worsening food security and the spread of infectious diseases. Japan is no exception, and the number of “Heat Stroke Alerts” issued by the Ministry of the Environment continues to rise each year. This year, the number exceeded 1,000 for the first time since the alerts began, with escalating numbers of people being transported to emergency rooms due to heat stroke.

In this edition of the COSMO newsletter, we sit down with Dr. Yasushi Honda, Professor Emeritus of Sports Science at the University of Tsukuba to get his take on the health risks posed by climate change; the key facts you need to know; and how the healthcare industry should respond.

岩下裕司Health Care and The Environment: The Risks Posed by Climate Change How should the healthcare industry respond?
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Healthcare and the Environment: Understanding the Movement around PFAS<span>How should the healthcare industry face this issue?</span>

Healthcare and the Environment: Understanding the Movement around PFASHow should the healthcare industry face this issue?

2023年7月20日 ,

Have you heard of PFAS? Standing for “Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances,” PFAS is the generic name for artificially created organic fluorine compounds. Capable of repelling water and oil, in addition to being highly resistant to heat, chemicals, and ultraviolet rays, they are used in a wide range of applications from water repellents and emulsifiers, to fire extinguishing agents and surface treatments for packaging materials. However, as stable compounds, PFAS have also become known as “forever chemicals” since they can remain in the environment with little degradation. Reportedly, some PFAS may potentially affect human health if people are internally exposed to them for long periods of time. In recent years, there has been an accelerating trend toward their tighter regulation, particularly in the US and Europe. In this newsletter, we asked Dr. Kouji Harada, Associate Professor at the Department of Health and Environmental Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, to introduce some of the fundamentals around PFAS, as well as share his insights into related domestic and international trends, and what approach the healthcare industry should take. Read on to the end for Dr. Harada’s profile.

岩下裕司Healthcare and the Environment: Understanding the Movement around PFASHow should the healthcare industry face this issue?
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Solving Challenges Around Rare and Intractable Diseases Through Stakeholder Collaboration<br><span>Moving toward an era when patients, healthcare professionals, and pharmaceutical companies take action together</span>

Solving Challenges Around Rare and Intractable Diseases Through Stakeholder Collaboration
Moving toward an era when patients, healthcare professionals, and pharmaceutical companies take action together

2023年3月23日 ,

The Act on Securing Quality, Efficacy and Safety of Products Including Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices (Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act) defines “Rare Disease” as that with fewer than 50,000 patients in Japan. In recent years we have seen a rise in activities being held in Japan and around the world to raise awareness of rare and intractable diseases. These are largely driven by patient groups, but pharmaceutical companies are also starting to more actively provide information and develop new drugs. Steady progress is being made, but there remain many issues to be addressed when it comes to solving challenges around rare and intractable diseases.

In this newsletter, we sit down with Ms. Yukiko Nishimura, Founder and President of ASrid (Advisory Service for Rare and Intractable Diseases), a non-profit organization that seeks to provide services to all stakeholders in the field of rare and intractable diseases. The conversation explores the current state of these challenges in more depth, as well as the next steps we should be working toward. Read on to the end for Ms. Nishimura’s full profile.

岩下裕司Solving Challenges Around Rare and Intractable Diseases Through Stakeholder Collaboration
Moving toward an era when patients, healthcare professionals, and pharmaceutical companies take action together
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Women’s mental health advice <br>from a medical practitioner in the field<br><span>The importance of creating a supportive atmosphere for<br /> those experiencing mental health issues</span>

Women’s mental health advice
from a medical practitioner in the field
The importance of creating a supportive atmosphere for
those experiencing mental health issues

2022年10月28日 ,

It has been claimed in the past that women are twice as likely to suffer from depression as men. Factors may include anxiety caused by naturally-fluctuating female hormones, a work environment in Japan that still makes it difficult for women to work, conflicts arising from relationships within the family, or memories of childhood trauma. Compounding this, recent research suggests that women’s mental health has been further negatively impacted under the COVID-19 pandemic. If we suspect the mental health of someone close to us is deteriorating, whether in the family or at work, how should we go about responding?

In this newsletter, we speak to Dr. Yoshiko Orito of the Yoyogi no Mori Clinic, who has been involved in women’s mental health for many years, about the issues surrounding women’s mental health and specific measures to deal with them. Dr. Orito’s profile may be found at the end.

岩下裕司Women’s mental health advice
from a medical practitioner in the field
The importance of creating a supportive atmosphere for
those experiencing mental health issues
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The current state of women’s mental health in Japan<br><span>How should we respond to deepening challenges brought about by the pandemic?</span>

The current state of women’s mental health in Japan
How should we respond to deepening challenges brought about by the pandemic?

2022年7月29日 ,

As COVID-19 infections continue to spread, the pandemic is bringing about other problems in Japan with deteriorating mental health among women and increased rates of suicide. It’s believed that this may be attributed to an increase in domestic abuse, heavier burden of domestic responsibilities, such as housework, childcare and nursing care, as well as escalating financial pressures, including job loss and reduced income.

Solving gender inequality demands cutting to the core of the issue and directly tackling the structural problems that put women in vulnerable positions. However, striving for gender equality means recognizing that there is an overlooked part of society where both men are women are struggling. Dr. Haruka Sakamoto, Senior Manager at the Health and Global Policy Institute highlights this issue when she notes that domestic work still tends to fall upon women due to outdated beliefs that men should be working hard outside of the home with society negatively judging men who prioritize domestic work over their careers. Women are pressured to stay at home, while men are made to work long hours on their paid jobs. Such a society makes life difficult for both women and men.

岩下裕司The current state of women’s mental health in Japan
How should we respond to deepening challenges brought about by the pandemic?
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Spotlight on Women’s Health in Japan: <br>The role of femtech in the lives of women

Spotlight on Women’s Health in Japan:
The role of femtech in the lives of women

2022年4月27日 ,

In this issue, we highlight the road to good health as experienced by women, and the growing interest in femtech. In particular, we set out to raise awareness of the following challenges, solutions, and key learnings: 

  • Encouraging discussion on women’s health
  • Conversations with experts in the field
  • Innovative solutions in Japan 
  • Positive outcomes for women’s health
  • The path forward

When it comes to recognizing the connection between women’s health and community, perhaps Michelle Obama said it best, “Communities are only as strong as the health of their women.”1

Kumi Sato, Cosmo Public Relations Corporation (“COSMO”) President and CEO, “I believe that we still have a long way to go in ensuring there is more focus on Women’s Health. To advance earlier diagnosis and appropriate treatment, Diagnostics and Medical Devices will be increasingly important.”

岩下裕司Spotlight on Women’s Health in Japan:
The role of femtech in the lives of women
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HIV Prevention Focusing on Communities

HIV Prevention Focusing on Communities

2021年3月30日 ,

– Interview with Kota Iwahashi, President of akta
– Understanding how akta became a NPO success story

Patient empowerment and greater patient participation in managing one’s own health care have gained attention in recent years. One area where this trend has made particular progress is that of HIV and AIDS. As president of akta, Kota Iwahashi has been at the forefront of anti-HIV efforts in Japan. In a sequel to our last newsletter issue, COSMO wanted to learn more about how akta came about, the activities it’s involved in, and what lessons may be learned as an organization that continues to successfully drive progressive initiatives within a challenging environment. (Read the previous newsletter ‘HIV today: Latest Information and Changing Mindsets here).

岩下裕司HIV Prevention Focusing on Communities
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＜HIV today＞ Latest Information and Changing Mindsets: Shifting to a community-based approach that puts people and the community at the center – Interview with Kota Iwahashi, President of akta –

＜HIV today＞ Latest Information and Changing Mindsets: Shifting to a community-based approach that puts people and the community at the center – Interview with Kota Iwahashi, President of akta –

2021年3月22日 ,

More than a year has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Among the many consequences being felt by us all, one issue that stands out is the impact on operations at public health centers, a body that tended to garner little attention in the past. The past year has underscored the important role public health centers play, but has also shone a light on the difficulties created when such centers are forced to focus exclusively on one disease, in this case COVID-19.

For this issue of the COSMO Newsletter, we wanted to understand how this situation is particularly affecting HIV transmission and treatment. We sat down with guest contributor Kota Iwahashi, President of akta, a non-profit organization that offers education and support to those affected by HIV and AIDS, to gain insights into the latest developments when it comes to HIV transmission in and outside of Japan.

The following guest contribution is compiled from an interview with Kota Iwahashi, President of akta, conducted exclusively for COSMO Newsletter readers.

岩下裕司＜HIV today＞ Latest Information and Changing Mindsets: Shifting to a community-based approach that puts people and the community at the center – Interview with Kota Iwahashi, President of akta –
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COSMO publishes second Patient Insight Report, focusing on women’s cancer

COSMO publishes second Patient Insight Report, focusing on women’s cancer

2021年2月10日 , , , ,

– How patient empowerment affects gynecological and breast cancer patients
– The influence media and patient groups have over patients’ attitudes and behaviors toward treatment

COSMO’s Patient Insight Report series launched in July 2020. The second volume has now been published, this time focusing on women’s cancer.

The report offers quantitative and qualitative insights into how information affects the choices women’s cancer patients make.

It first analyzes attitudes and behaviors toward treatment selection, as observed among patients of the three main gynecological cancers – ovarian, cervical and endometrial, as well as breast cancer. Specifically, it examines how their physicians explain treatment options to them, how and what they research, and their willingness to participate in clinical trials and patient group activities, drawing data from a nationwide online survey conducted in March 2020 of 300 patients affected by ten primary cancer types.

Secondly, the report explores how patient empowerment affects women’s cancer patients and how media coverage and patient groups influence their attitudes and behaviors, based on separately conducted research into empowerment among patient groups and analysis of media coverage for women’s cancer.

岩下裕司COSMO publishes second Patient Insight Report, focusing on women’s cancer
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Medinew and COSMO Joint Webinar: What Patients Expect of Pharmaceutical Companies Today; Insights on Appropriate Information Provision

Medinew and COSMO Joint Webinar: What Patients Expect of Pharmaceutical Companies Today; Insights on Appropriate Information Provision

2020年12月9日 , , , ,

On October 28, COSMO co-hosted a joint webinar with Medinew, a leading medical marketing magazine with a large readership among the pharmaceutical industry. Highlights from the session have now been made available online as a Medinew seminar report (Japanese language only).

Setting out to establish answers to the event’s topic of “What Patients Expect of Pharmaceutical Companies on Appropriate Information Provision Today,” Mr. Yoshiaki Kaneko, CEO of Medinew’s operating company, Pharma Information Network, Inc., opened the webinar with a presentation on “Communication with Patients for Pharmaceuticals Marketing.”

“Promotion efforts have until now focused on improving disease awareness and patient education to increase sales, but due to changes in pharmaceutical companies’ business models and the impact of COVID-19, it is likely that we will see a shift toward more patient-centered promotion in the future. Business areas will also be required to broaden their scope from a focus on product offerings to information service offerings,” said Mr. Kaneko.
Findings and recommendations from COSMO’s “Patient Insight Report”

The next speaker, Tomomi Nagasawa, Managing Director of Cosmo Public Relations Corporation, spoke on the topic of “Patient Awareness and Behavior during Treatment Selection and Prescription: Results of a Survey of 300 Cancer Patients.”

In March this year, COSMO conducted a nationwide online survey of 300 male and female patients across ten major types of cancer in order to gain insights into how cancer patients select treatment options, as well as measuring the behavioral differences among patients with different types of cancers. Patient awareness and perceptions of 19 major pharmaceutical companies were also measured to understand how corporate reputation affects the selection of prescription drugs. The results were compiled and released in July this year under the title of “Patient Insight Report: Cancer.”

Speaking on the decision to undertake such a survey, Ms. Nagasawa explained, “In recent years, treatment options for cancer have increased. [New practices, including] informed consent, in which patients receive explanations from physicians and then decide whether or not to consent; or shared decision-making, where physicians and patients share information on evidence and decide treatment options together, are becoming mainstream. Healthcare is transitioning from a service that patients passively receive from their physician, to one that patients themselves understand and choose.”

Ms. Nagasawa then introduced key findings from the survey. For example, unmet needs when it comes to information may be inferred from the fact that while 80% of patients research treatment options, 30% cannot understand the information and still end up relying on physicians’ explanations.

When selecting prescription medicine, patients are concerned about negative news on drug manufacturers; they research manufacturers of any prescribed medication and assess the company’s reputation. This reveals patients’ desire to proactively select better treatment and implies that the reputation of pharmaceutical companies does affect to some degree patients’ evaluation of treatment options and effectiveness or safety of therapies.

Importantly pharmaceutical companies potentially stand to bridge the gap between healthcare and patients. Supporting patients’ understanding of medical information can help them to positively consent to treatments or actively decide on treatments and thus affect their level of satisfaction toward treatments.

The presentation then concluded with specific recommendations to help pharmaceutical companies fulfill their role of providing information to patients, divided into:

1. Two practical ways pharmaceutical companies can provide easy-to-understand medical information to patients.

2. Three essential elements expected of pharmaceutical companies at all times when developing corporate reputation and communicating messaging.

 

■ Interested readers who were unable to join the webinar or are interested in reviewing the information introduced may access the full Medinew seminar report available online here, which includes a selection of slides and graphs used during the presentation.

■ Cosmo PR’s Patient Insight Report: Cancer is available for purchase in both Japanese and English language. “The report offers detailed survey results on corporate reputation according to cancer type. It can be used to understand patient perceptions of pharmaceutical companies, including awareness levels and corporate image as manufacturers and distributors of cancer therapies. The report also provides detailed analyses of cancer patients’ thoughts and behaviors that offer valuable reference material for pharmaceutical companies when planning and implementing promotional activities.” – Medinew Japan.
Click here for an overview of the survey and details on how to purchase the report.

We’d like to thank you for your continued interest in Cosmo PR and encourage all our readers to share these links with others who may also find value in them. It is our hope that the webinar discussion, cancer patient survey, and report benefit as many people as possible.

 

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COSMO announces Patient Insight Report at the 12th Japanese Association of Health Communication

The 12th annual conference of the Japanese Association of Health Communication was held online during September 26 – 27. Joining the “Communication with Patients and Families” segment, Cosmo PR offered a presentation on survey results from its Patient Insight Report, under a theme of “Search Behavior of Patients When Selecting Treatment Options and When Medication is Prescribed; Potential Effects of Corporate Reputation on Patients’ Selection Behavior.”

岩下裕司Medinew and COSMO Joint Webinar: What Patients Expect of Pharmaceutical Companies Today; Insights on Appropriate Information Provision
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What is the pathway to patient-centric ethical drug development?

What is the pathway to patient-centric ethical drug development?

2020年9月25日 ,

Pathway to patient-centric drug development

Shift from patient engagement to public engagement

Healthcare in Japan is transitioning from care that patients passively receive, to one that they independently choose.
This trend is becoming increasingly important, not only in terms of patients’ conducting their own research and openly discussing information with healthcare professionals, but also within drug research and development. Why is collaboration between pharmaceutical researchers and patients or citizens, which was minimal in the past, needed more now? How can this be achieved?
To answer this question and more, we interviewed Dr. Imamura, who is taking on the challenge of creating a place where researchers and patients can learn together.

MatsubaraWhat is the pathway to patient-centric ethical drug development?
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Online Survey of 300 Cancer Patients in Japan

2020年8月5日 , , ,

Online Survey of 300 Cancer Patients in Japan

Real Patient Experiences of Choosing Cancer Treatment Revealed

30% Followed Doctors’ Recommendation Without Sufficient Understanding

 

TOKYO – July 31, 2020 – In light of the growing number of cancer treatment options now available, COSMO HEALTHCARE has conducted a nationwide online survey of 300 patients across ten major types of cancer in order to gain insight into how informed cancer patients are when deciding on treatment options.

MatsubaraOnline Survey of 300 Cancer Patients in Japan
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COSMO Healthcare Interview: “Japan in 10 Minutes”

COSMO Healthcare Interview: “Japan in 10 Minutes”

2020年6月24日 ,

No. 2: Dr. Masaharu Tsubokura, MD, of Hirata Central Hospital in Fukushima

As the second segment of COSMO’s “Japan in 10 Minutes” interview series, our CEO Kumi Sato interviews with Dr. Tsubokura, of Hirata Central Hospital in Japan.
In the interview, Dr. Tsubokura discussed the situation about PCR testing and Antibody testing in Japan.

Tomomi-NagasawaCOSMO Healthcare Interview: “Japan in 10 Minutes”
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Corporate Relevance:Communications Strategies in the COVID-19 Age

Corporate Relevance:Communications Strategies in the COVID-19 Age

2020年5月22日 ,

1. Should we expect a paradigm shift?

Finally we are seeing a flattening of the worldwide COVID-19 curve and lifting of lockdowns across major cities. On May 14, Japan lifted its state of emergency for 39 prefectures. With people and businesses asked to either refrain entirely or severely restrict so many activities during the crisis, we are now entering a new phase of resuming daily life while coexisting with the virus.

Some experts are predicting that the post-COVID-19 world will be accompanied by a transformational paradigm shift, spanning every aspect of our lives from business and commerce, to education to politics. Indeed, the pandemic has already ushered in rapid adoption of long-advocated initiatives, such as cashless society, online shopping, teleworking, paperless society, online education, and telemedicine. We can now finally predict that Japan will see step changes in these areas, with COVID-19 acting as the catalyst.

 

Tomomi-NagasawaCorporate Relevance:Communications Strategies in the COVID-19 Age
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About Us

COSMO is one of Japan’s leading independent strategic communication consultancies.

Established in 1960, COSMO was a pioneer in the field of public relations in Japan. Today, we continue to shape the communication landscape in the fields of Healthcare, Food & Food Science, and Consumer Goods & Services.

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