Rural Health Disparities in Japan　― Urgent Need for Big Data Utilization and Health Service Research ―

摘要

In this issue of the Journal, the study by Matsuzawaet al1 using big data (JROAD-DPC) has a remarkableimplication for the Japanese health care system. Theirchief findings are: (1) patients with acute myocardialinfarction (AMI) who live in areas with lower populationdensity had higher in-hospital mortality than those who livein areas of high-population density, (2) patients who live inless densely populated areas tended to be transported forlonger distance and to facilities with lower annual numbersof primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI)(low-volume hospitals) and (3) patients transported tohospitals with a larger annual number of PCIs (high-volumehospitals) had more favorable outcomes irrespective ofpopulation density and distance to the hospital.