A study on promotion method of effective initiatives for establishment of the Integrated Community Care System

摘要

In Japan, the rapidly aging population has led to a demand for seamless medical and long-term care services to elderly. Given this situation, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare aims to promote an Integrated Community Care System that can appropriately provide various services. This system requires the cooperation of all relevant organizations in the community, such as hospitals, nursing facilities, and pharmacies. Although each community is working toward strengthening cooperation, effective ways to promote concrete initiatives are still unclear. The increasing interest in the Integrated Community Care System has led to pioneering cases, but they are difficult to replicate in communities handicapped by insufficient resources. Therefore, each community need to promote initiatives based on regional characteristics.The purpose of this study is to propose a method to promote such initiatives effectively. First, we list the activities required to establish the Integrated Community Care System and construct a model to put it in place. We then assess the present level of cooperation in a community (which we identify as Community A) and estimate its resources. We then develop a roadmap for the establishment of the System. Furthermore, we identify some effective initiatives and try to implement them in Community A.