Talk With

vol.172020 SUM MER

Guest Naoto Ishida Representative, Urawa Digital Planning, LLC
The Future of Healthcare Pioneered by Elegant Ideas

Beautiful Parisian Bones?
The Eiffel Tower andThigh BonesCHANGETHE

VIEWPOINTThe Eiffel Tower was completed in two years and twomonths—an amazingly short period of time for its era—inorder to finish it in time for the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris.
It still stands unchanged today, decorating the cityscape
as a symbol of Paris. But did you know that it was built inreference to thigh bones?
The architect focused on the reinforcement structures thateliminate fatigue in thigh bones. He realized that he could
make a gale-resistant design by inverting the thigh bone
shape, which tapers downward. Thanks to his idea, we canCommunicat eenjoy the beautiful arches in the beams of the Eiffel Tower
that were inspired by thigh bones.

The “C” of C-PRESS refers to the “C” of CMIC
and the “C” of communication.
C-PRESS delivers a wide range
of information with a focus on topics
in the medical and healthcare fields.
Published September 2020
Published by the Marketing Communication and PR Group, Corporate Marketing
Department, CMIC HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.
Hamamatsucho Building, 1-1, Shibaura 1-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0023
Phone: 03-6779-8200 Website: www.cmicgroup.com
Supervised by Yoshihiko Mochizuki (Chairman of the Board of Directors at Medical
Corporation Emilio Moriguchi / Director of the Shibaura Three One Clinic)

Also, bones have compact and hard areas (cortical bone)inside of their outer surfaces, and spongy bone inside withholes and trabecula. This reduces weight without
decreasing strength. The architect used this structure as areference, and decided to employ a truss structure inorder to reduce the tower’s weight.
If you have a chance to look up at the Eiffel Tower,
consider taking a close look at its structure, which tookhints from bones.

CONTENTS
3

Talk With

12

Challenge to a Rare Disease (11)14

SeriesGuest Naoto Ishida Representative, Urawa Digital Planning, LLC

The Future of Healthcare Pioneered by Elegant Ideas
8

The Hospitality of Language Yukari Nishide

Hiraku’s Viewpoint vol. 7 Hiraku

10

Dr. Mochizuki ’s Column Yoshihiko Mochizuki
What Will Happen with the Smoking Problem
during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics?

CMIC Group’s
Initiatives for Diversity & Inclusion (7)Get Ready Now Before Nursing Care Becomes
Necessary and Build an Environment that
Supports Work and Nursing Care in Harmony

In response to reader requests, we are going to share
English jokes this time.

9

Pharmaceutical Distribution to Support
Patients with Rare Diseases

16

Our Creative Service at CMIC

19

CMIC NEWSAn Information Revolution in Healthcare Begun
by Electronic Medicine Notebook harmo!

K A ZU O N A K A M U R A

Ta l k W i t h

N AOTO I S H I DA

The Future of Healthcare Pioneeredby Elegant Ideas

Kazuo Nakamura
CMIC HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.
Representative Director and CEO

Naoto Ishida
Urawa Digital Planning Representative

Till now, healthcare systems have been built with a view of providing patients with medicalcare and medicinal treatment. However, the recent spread of the novel coronavirus haschanged how we see prevention, treatment, and other aspects of healthcare. There is ademand for healthcare systems to move closer to those who in need of care and to adjust
to fit into their daily life. What is needed to construct the framework for new healthcare
systems that adopt the perspective of those who receive care? CEO Nakamura spoke to
Naoto Ishida, who has worked behind the scenes to help Japanese video games gamesucceed in the world and gained his view on the kind of reforms that is needed to revolutecurrent healthcare system.

The Future of Healthcare Pioneered by Elegant Ideas

KAZUO NAKAMURA

Talk With

NAOTO ISHIDA*1Managing the entire
process related to audioon the Super Nintendo
Nakamura This time, I am visited by
Mr. Ishida, who has worked indevelopment since the dawn of thevideo game console age, and who has
supported the advancement ofJapanese consoles abroad.

At the time, people of my generation
perceived video games as mere toys,

but these games defied expectations,advancing internationally andachieving huge success. In addition,Sony’s Walkman succeeded globally at
almost the same time. Music wassomething that you listened to athome, but the Walkman created aculture where you could easily takemusic outside and enjoy it anytime,

anywhere. When talking about Japan’s
strengths, people tend to focus on

manufacturing and other “hard” areas.
However, Japan also has great powerin “soft” areas to encourage changes

from the start.

Ishida Nintendo also did not say “doomissions in managing medicine at

Mr. Ishida, what was the video gamechange the original design forthat did not do anything like creating athought it would be interesting toin people’s actions.

industry like when you began working?
Ishida I began working at Nintendo in

1988, which was the end of the periodof the Family Computer (nicknamed“Famicom”). At that time, Nintendo
was thinking of shifting to the next

machine soon. I had studied acoustic
physics at Kyushu University, so
immediately after joining thecompany, I was assigned to manage

sound design for the Super Nintendo.
As it was going to be a 16-bit

overseas rollout. As people atNintendo believe that if most of theend users liked it, it is a good product.
They never wavered in this conviction,
always starting by making whatever

the employees themselves found to be
the most interesting.

Interesting things are born“under the desk”

machine, its expressive power was like

Nakamura Today, I am also visited byNintendo was then still a small

electronic medicine notebook

a Cambrian explosion.

company, so it was normal for one
person to play many roles. Thus, I

managed the entire process related to

Mr. Fukushi, who conceived of the“harmo” during his time at Sony, andwho now is Head of CMIC Tech Lab.

audio: I worked on designing

What was the story behind thedevelopment of harmo*1 at Sony?

inbuilt synthesizer; I composed music; I

development, I myself became ill andspecifications for the game console’s

built the chip; and I even arranged thecircuits. There was no precedent forme to reference, so I did research on
my own and asked many

people a lot of questions. I
knew I wanted to use myabilities to make the bestthing possible. As I had justjoined my first company, I
didn’t know about othercompanies, so I thought thiswas a natural thing to do.
Nakamura Were you

thinking about advancing inoverseas markets from thestart?

Ishida At that time, allJapanese video games werecalled “Nintendo” overseas,
regardless of the actual

manufacturer, so of course
we were thinking about
KAZUO NAKAMURA

I think it was good that we didn’t

expanding overseas market

Fukushi Regarding harmo’s

was prescribed many medicines. I did
not know about the difference of

medicines, and I made mistakes intaking them. I wondered whether
there might be an easy way tomanage prescription drug andinstruction data, and this became mymotivation for the development. In aflash of inspiration, I realized I could

apply the FeliCa technology Sony had
developed to achieve a completely

new method of managing prescriptionthis” or “do that”; it was a company
release plan for a video game andthen reflect that into the financial plan.
Motivated people work voluntarily

from the start, and when a task hasvaguely taken shape, they show it to

the division manager and ask for his or
her decision. If they receive a go sign,then they finally start to engage in it aswork. Ultimately, the company
president decides oncommercialization. In this world, we
can drive maybe 1 out of 100 video

games to commercialization, so we all
rack our brains because we need tothink of something that can get
approved.

Nakamura Now, with remote working
taking root due to the COVID-19

pandemic, new things are being born

through exchanges across companies,
but at the same time, I am afraid that
we will lose the feeling andopportunities to gather everyone

together and do something. I thinkthat places where everyone can gather
and rack our brains while we work arealso extremely important.

Three principles: “Do nothesitate; do not worry;enjoy”

drug and instruction data. However,

Nakamura When we could not decideassigned to me.

consulted with Mr. Ishida. What was

this was not a task that the company
Nakamura Did the company approveof you doing research anddevelopment outside of work?

Fukushi It was not approved officially,
but the culture was such that it was

natural to do research outside of work
using one’s free time, and this wascalled “under the desk.”

about the next move for harmo, I

your impression when you saw harmo?
Ishida I felt it was slightly formal. It isrelated to healthcare, so of course it
should not be too playful, but I had

the sense it is not something I would

see every day. To say it another way,

making it into something that I would
see every day might eliminate

crucial moments. For the next stage, I
position it as an app that you would
inadvertently check even at times

completely unrelated to medicine.

Nakamura CMIC is a company that has

Electronic medicine notebook
service harmo
Using the contactless IC card technology
FeliCa, the electronic medicine notebook
service harmo empowers patients to centrally
manage their own medicine information in a
simple, reliable way. Healthcare professionals
can also share and use this information. This
healthcare information integration system has
an electronic medicine notebook as its
foundation.

7,000 professionals involved in➡ For details, see p.16 to 18.

pharmaceutical industry andhealthcare. Here, a culture of doing

things based on the conventional flow
is deeply rooted, and it is natural tothink about work while complying withthe many various regulations.

developments using a Personal Health
Record.*2 However, when viewed frommight be different when considering

necessary to make it a tool for people

patients. At that time, I received themaking daily life more interesting.

not change it so that users will not

Fukushi I think that it is important tothese words, I felt the fog inside myplace. Harmo uses a contactless IC

Ishida Video games have a set of threewhen you touch the Suica IC card to ahesitate”; “do not make the player

situations where children find thethe player cannot stop.” Video games

card to the reader many times. Thus, I

time, so people will run away if games

it because they want to touch it.” At

principles. I also think that it is a good

because “it would not contribute to

the app.

Nakamura I greatly agree, though.

games recently, so there is a greater

Making fans in this area while working

not understand a minor thing, the app

to breaking apart the sense of despair

However, I did think that something

the user’s perspective, I think it ismanufacturing from the viewpoint of

to enjoy content that they like, or forfollowing advice from Mr. Ishida: “WhyWhat do you think about this?

easily move away from harmo?” With

create fans starting from a familiar

head clear.

card. For example, a sound is madeprinciples: “do not allow the player topayment reader, and I have seen

worry”; and “make it so enjoyable thatsound interesting and touch the Suicaare things that you do in your free

proposed a system where “people use

do not comply with these three

the time, this was flatly rejectedidea to put all of these elements into

sales.” (laughter)

Fukushi There are many free video

Sensory enjoyment is important.

hurdle in this regard. If the user does

to realize the developments will be key

will be deleted immediately. So as you

in Japan today.

said, Mr. Ishida, it is necessary to havea flow that does not allow for

hesitation, and to make it simple andattractive so that users cannot stop
once they start.

Nakamura Harmo goes beyond a

simple medicine notebook; it is a toolwith which we can expect many new*2 Personal Health Record (PHR): A system for collecting and centrally storing data on a patient's healthcare, nursing care, and general health.

The Future of Healthcare Pioneered by Elegant Ideas

KAZUO NAKAMURA

things that you concentrate on whileinterest in health. People do notuse of the medicine.

people take the same medicine

something happens while you leave

interesting, so I think it is necessary to

personally feel concerned, and I think I

Ishida For example, during

playing, but with idle games,

the game, and you can check the new

event when you come back and play. It
might be interesting if this sort ofsystem could be made in harmo, too.

Building a framework forhealth management fromthe perspective of those
who receive care
Ishida Recently, the number of jobs

related to healthcare and nursing care
has increased, but I have noticed thatthe shift to IT has been quite slow.
When people become ill, almost

everyone goes to see a doctor, but if

people could practice thorough care in
their daily lives, then they would only
need to make a comparison against
their baseline data and find thedifferences.

Nakamura This is precisely what weare interested in right now. Particularly
at present with COVID-19, people areminimizing their visits to hospitals, andhow one manages one’s own healthhas become extremely important. I

think we can learn many things fromvideo game development, but what do
you think?

Ishida Recently, the keyword “idle”
has become popular in the video

game industry. Until now, games were“Pokémon GO” serves as a reference.

If you make walking itself into a game,then people start walking.

Smartphones have a pedometer

function, so the issue becomes how tomake it interesting.

Fukushi Listening to what Mr. Ishidasaid, I remembered that I tried tomake a game called “Medicine

Notebook Battler” after taking a hintfrom “Barcode Battler”.*3 Barcode
Battler is a game in which you scanbarcodes to generate characters, andyou can make the characters fight eachother. I wondered whether I could

make a version of this with medicine. If
you could have the medicines you are
currently taking fight each other, you
would come to recognize those

medicines, and you would always

register new medicines when you getthem, so it would be really good. But
when I suggested this, I was scoldedwith the words “don’t be ridiculous!”(laughter)

Ishida No, I think that is interesting,without a doubt. I too think it would
be good to anthropomorphize
medicines.

Nakamura In the past, the only ideas
came from the viewpoint of people

providing healthcare, so perspective
was lacking in terms of blending
medicine and the healthcare

management system into each

person’s life to enable people to makemaximal use of them. Do you have any
ideas about this?
Gakuho Fukushi
Head of CMIC Tech Lab, Business Strategy Headquarters,

Fukushi I think that people in general,
including myself, do not have much

CMIC HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.
Conceived harmo.

*3 Barcode Battler is an electronic game console that was sold by Epoch in 1991.

usually do something if it is nothave a system which enables people to
do something enjoyable without

overexerting themselves, and thisstate actually helps with healthmanagement.

Ishida I think it may be good to

expand the functions of pharmacies sothat they become destinations. Now,
they are only places for getting

medicine, but they could becomebases for the neighborhood if they

have useful information for people andfunctions for encountering the new.

Also, if pharmacies become fun places,
the barrier to healthcare will belowered significantly, and perceptionsof health may change as well.

Nakamura COVID-19’s impact has put
healthcare systems at a crossroads.

Going forward, it will be necessary tobuild a new ecosystem related tohealthcare and health. As you pointed
out, I think the position of pharmacies

will change under this new framework.
However, in reality, it is tough to train
staff to acquire new functions, and so

it would be good if harmo could assist
in that.

Going beyond a mere
medicine notebook tocreate new value
Nakamura One problem is that

medicine labels are hard for regularpeople to understand. Even if theylook at the list of adverse effects, itdoes not seem real. For example, if
there was site for facilitatingexchanges between people who takethe same medicine, I think they could
all support each other and manage

adverse effects in order to optimize

Ishida When I take medicine, I

would be encouraged just by knowingthat there are others taking the samething. For example, even if the records

Talk With

NAOTO ISHIDA

for many years.

disasters, it is important to knowwhat kind of medicines arefor people taking medicine were

present in which locations. People
may find that a certain district orwould see such people taking thekind of medicine. This may allow

this may make them think that they

the medicine to others who have

Fukushi We are thinking precisely thealso be done by comprehensively“Several thousand harmo users areregistration and use.

create a sense of camaraderie because

ascertain where a certain type of

connections between people, as we

It may be just a number, but I thinkentire production process could bea long time due to COVID-19. I hopethe medicine will change depending

possibility for revolutionizing supply

simply published anonymously, others

user group still has at least one

same medicine without forgetting, andpeople in that district to circulate

should work hard, too.

an urgent need for it. This could

same thing. For example, the message

gathering the status of medicine

taking this medicine now” by itself canNakamura If people could“so many others are taking it.”

medicine is and its expiry date, thethat one’s desire to continue taking

adjusted, so there is also theon the presence of this number.

chains.

Nakamura Through exchanges

between users, an optimal way to takethe medicine may emerge. For

example, with medicine taken after
eating, the timing differs if it is“immediately after eating” or “after

For people to live lives intheir own ways in a
post-COVID-19 society

eating.” The former means within 5

Nakamura COVID-19 has significantly

means within 30 minutes of eating, but

think society will change in the future?

these two apart. People take moreage of more individual expression.

they may take all of their medicines

example, I think people who develop

split them up into the categories ofbeing significant medicine nerds. In

principle, medicines have an optimal

given about effects, but I think it

information exchange would be

more about their feelings regarding

Apart from this, there may be

development. Users can enjoy thisaccumulate data such as whether

harmo to include a space like this, too.

COVID-19, or what happens whenfor me to rediscover the importance ofminutes of eating, while the lattershaken up our values. How do you

regular people may not be able to tell

Ishida I think we will transition into an

medicines as they get older, and so

Regarding the topic at hand, fortogether because it is bothersome to

medicine have the characteristic of

before and after eating. However, inthe past, information has only been

way to be taken, so I think such

would be good for people to talkexcellent.

the medicine or stories from

unexpected discoveries if we

content, so it might be good forpeople taking a certain medicine have

Fukushi This pandemic was a chance

NAOTO ISHIDA

have not been able to meet others forthat harmo will serve as a tool for
supporting these personalconnections. I felt I want to make it sothat people can communicate their
feelings through this tool. For

example, a grandson could receive amessage if his grandfather properly
takes his medicine every day.

Nakamura The COVID-19 pandemic
has led me to understand theimportance of each person living his or
her life based on something to live for,not just treating diseases. I think that
harmo will be an important tool for

supporting such efforts. Moving one

step forward, I want to make it into a
tool where people touch it

involuntarily because it is interesting,and through this process increase theirhealthcare literacy naturally. We wantto advance while racking our brains

together on how to achieve this, so I
would appreciate your assistance inthe future. Thank you for taking thetime to talk today.

Series

CMIC Group s Initiatives for Diversity & Inclusion

More people in Japanare working while engaging
in nursing care
Kanamaru It is said that one in threepeople age 75 or over will require someform of nursing care.*1 Could you tellme about the current state of nursing
care in Japan?
Nitta While number of people who
require nursing care increase, there has
also been a significant rise in thenumber of two-income households, andin addition, there are fewer children perhousehold, and the non-marriage rate isincreasing.

Kyoko Kanamaru
Corporate Officer in charge of Group Diversity
Promotion, CMIC HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.

Thus, more people are forced to work
while caring for their parents. Almost
65% of men and 50% of women who
engage in nursing care have a job*2,
and I feel that would-be-nursing
caregivers, people who need to takecare of their parents who find it difficult
to do the activities of daily life alone,
are also increasing.
Kanamaru How many people quit theirjobs to do nursing care?
Nitta The number is said to be about
100,000 people per year.*2 People who
actually had to quit their jobs often say,
“I did not know what to do when facedwith the issue of nursing care, as I had
no knowledge and was not prepared. I
took a leave of absence from the office,but as time went by I felt I had becomea burden to the company, so I had toquit.” To avoid getting flustered when
faced with the issue of nursing care, it is
crucial to prepare in advance.
Kanamaru Unlike childcare, you cannot
predict when you will need to startnursing care. Can people take action in
the initial stages if they live far awayfrom their parents?
Nitta There are many cases oflong-distance nursing care, but systems
for nursing care and welfare arecomplicated, so it is best to research or
consult with a care manager in advanceto find a good method to implement.
Also, it is best to make use of nursing

7

care leave and other systems to securea period to get things on track fornursing care.

Creating an easy-to-talk-to
workplace environment andpromoting telecommuting
Kanamaru Few people take leave to do
nursing care, but in fact there may be
many who quit to do nursing care or
who take leave for other reasons. Whatcan be done to support these people?
Nitta Good question. Companies
should communicate their stance,
stating “we want to support those whowork while doing nursing care, so
please tell us if you have trouble.”Everyone faces the issue of nursing
care, so it is crucial to foster a culture inwhich everyone can be open andcooperate. Companies should also
promote telecommuting . There arecases in which people have worked athome while taking care of their parents,
who could not attend care services
during the day due to the COVID-19
pandemic.
Kanamaru Telecommuting has maderapid progress, allowing people to work
while giving care.
Nitta Last year, one employee utilized
telecommuting for the initial stages oflong-distance nursing care. He lives in

Get Ready Now Before Nursing Care Becomes Necessary
and Build an Environment that Supports Work andNursing Care in Harmony

Nursing care insurance began 20 years ago in 2000 with the Long-Term Care
Insurance Act.
During the past 20 years, in Japan the percentage of elderly people hascontinued to rise.
It is said that about 33% of the population will be 65 or over in 2030.
Nursing care for parents is an issue that many people will face sooner or later.
Let’s hear from Kaori Nitta,
a social insurance labor consultant who has worked for many years doing nursing
care training for companies.

14

Tokyo, and he recognized that his
father living in Hokkaido was not doing
well than before. He visited his father
twice for a total of three weeks,
telecommuting from his father’s
residence while providing care as atest-run for the future. He gathered
information during break times as well
as before and after work. He talked
with his father about his wishes fornursing care, and he made all the
preparations to bring his father toTokyo while speaking with government
offices and relatives. The employee
said, “It would have been really tough if
there was no telecommuting system.”Even telecommuting only on Fridays or
Mondays makes it easier for people
who travel far to provide nursing careon weekends, so I think it helps reduce
the number of people who quit to do
nursing care.

Advance preparations
help people work
while giving care
Kanamaru Tell me more about suchpreparations.
Nitta You should learn about yourparents’ lifestyles, including theirchronic diseases, regular medicines,
regular doctor, and where they put
their daily essentials. If you build
friendly relationships with neighbors
and your relatives, they will support you
when you need it. Some municipalities
offer assistance even if your parent has
not been certified as needing care. If
you research these systems and try
using them little by little, you will
naturally be able to get assistance fromcare managers and helpers.
You should also understandyour parents’ finances, suchas their pensions. If you havea chance to visit a facility
together with them, you caneasily ask about monthly
payments, the kind of lifestyle
your parents want, and otherin-depth questions.
Kanamaru It is vital to talk ona regular basis.
Nitta If one of your relatives
is admitted to the hospital, you may
want to ask your parents, “What do you
want to do in the future?” It is also
good to gather a wide range of
information on welfare services in thearea where your parents live, such as
nursing care volunteers and taxi service
from the Social Welfare Council. You
can use nursing care insurance services
together with volunteer services fromthe local municipality or the Social
Welfare Council.
Kanamaru If you research services fromyour parents’ local municipality, you will
not become flustered when the timecomes. I thought it would be very hard
to work while providing nursing care,
but after listening to you and gainingsome knowledge, I feel a bit morerelaxed.
Nitta When I say “do research when
you go to visit your parents” at aseminar, I can sense everyone
becoming more conscious. You
sometimes find people who say, “I’mactually providing nursing care now”
with whom you can share stories about
nursing care.
Kanamaru I hope that theseopportunities can create groups ofpeople who can help each other withnursing care.
Nitta If you regularly check in on yourparents and think about how to work
while providing nursing care, you will
come to see what you need to do toprepare. Also, I think it is crucial foreveryone to support each other as if itwere their own parents, based on theawareness that it is only natural tocooperate if someone in the company
needs to provide nursing care.
Kanamaru This awareness is the firststep to cooperation. Working whileproviding nursing care feels like a morefamiliar concept now. I hope that thishelps our company’s employees think
about nursing care as an idea close athand. Thank you for joining me today.
*1 Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, “2015
Status Report on Long-term Care Insurance
Projects”*2 Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications,“2017 Employment Status Survey”

Kaori Nitta

Work Style Consultant,
Representative and Diverseor Consultant OfficeGrasse Social Insurance Lab

inars at companies, andheld by municipalities, sem
Through training sessions
supporting employees in
on
s
tion
with public organiza
consulting in collaboration
ns and educatesestio
nursing care, she offers sugg
their work while providing
ultant regarding how to
cons
r
labo
e
ranc
insu
al
a socipeople from her position as
ds in workplace awareness.
rse work styles as well as tren
use systems to enable divekplaces where everyone
wor
of
t
men
ribute to the develop
In this way, she helps contk.
can actively engage in wor

15

Please refer to Page 18 for brief
explanation of current nursing caresituation in Japan.

Electronic Medicine Notebook harmo leads the Information Revolution in Healthcare!

W

hat is harmo?

Hospitals

Clinics Pharmacies

Nursing Patients‛
homes
homes

It empowers patients to centrally manage their own medicine information in a simple, reliable way.
Healthcare professionals can also share and use this information.
It is a healthcare information coordination system based on an electronic medicine notebook.

gtion dru
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How harmo works

The patented technology is the core of harmo
datain the cloud: Stored

separately!
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harmo
cloud server

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Stored separately

Check data
anywhere via
the smartphone app!

Personal information

Name

Genderf birthDate oIn a nutshell, harmo is an electronic medicine notebook that uses transportation IC card technology.

You can provide accurate information
to the pharmacist!

Your medication history is safely
managed in harmo data centers!

Easy
to use
!

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&
secur
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Travel history

CloudSony‛s FeliCa* technologyrde the ca
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Medicinehing business opportunities
wide-reac!
For example, linking with POS systems
could pave the way for new services.

Utilizing in online practice

Advice on shopping

Provide appropriate information on medication
history and checkups to physicians during
remote medical care.
Pharmacists at patients‛ regular pharmacies canprovide online guidance on taking medicine.

Alert customers before buying
specific foods that interact with their medicines.

ntinueharmo will coto grow.
* For example, grapefruits are known to interact
with specific medicines, affecting efficacy.

13,000 pharmacies

A lifetime of records on your body with medication information
at the foundation

16* A technical format for contactless
IC cards

Link with medicine history data for

Deliver correct information to
the users on how to take medicine.

Continuing totake medicine

Medication resume

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In this edition,

we are pleased to introduce the electronic medicine
notebook service “harmo”.
In June 2019, CMIC Group acquired the harmo business from Sony
Corporation, and technical support is still provided based on the contract
with the company.
This section describes what electronic medicine notebooks are, what they cando, and their future prospects.

Q How does an “electronic medicine notebook” differ from a “medicine notebook”?
A “medicine notebook” is used in Japan to record details suchas the names of prescribed medicines as well as the amounts,
frequencies, and methods for taking them. Checking theserecords enables you to understand information about the
medicines that you have been prescribed in the past (yourmedication history). Generally, paper medicine notebooks areused. You receive stickers from the pharmacy together withyour prescription to stick in the notebook, or you can write insuch information yourself. Thus, it is not easy to accurately
record your long-term medication history because you may
forget to write down the details, and there is a limit to howmuch each notebook can store. An “electronic medicine
notebook” solves these issues by making it electronic.

Q What are the advantages of harmo?
Currently, dozens of companies have developed businesses
for electronic medicine notebook services, many of which
are used by having patients download a dedicatedapplication onto their smartphones. When pharmacists use
other systems to check medicine data in the pharmacy, theymust ask patients for permission each time.
The advantage of harmo is that there is a personal IC cardin addition to the services inside the application. This card
stores its owner’s name, while encrypted data is stored in
the cloud in a way that makes it difficult to identify
individuals.

Each patient is assigned a common ID. Touching the card to
the dedicated terminal indicates the patient’s consent forthe pharmacist to display the data, and the data is
extracted from the cloud. Also, this card can be reissued if
lost, and the reissue procedure renders the lost card
unusable, so the system protects privacy.
In this way, you can say that harmo is an electronic medicine
notebook service with strict privacy protection that enables
appropriate feedback based on medicine-related
information.

Q What are CMIC’s current initiatives for harmo?
Apart from basic electronic medicine notebook services,such as appropriate prescribing and medication guidancefor patients based on dispensing information, harmo has afunction for providing feedback to pharmacists at
dispensing pharmacies, including information on thepatient’s characteristics and comorbidities, mainly in areas
where the service already enjoys widespread use. In thisway, harmo is starting to become used as an information

infrastructure as we obtain the understandings of local
pharmacists.
In addition, we started collaborative research with Keio
University in June 2020. We have started using harmo torecord and check infant vaccinations in Kawasaki-ku,
Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture as a verification test on
the effects of reducing errors in vaccinations.

Q What are harmo’s future prospects?
In July 2020, we started collaborating with Pocket
Pharmacy to build a business for offering common services
using electronic medicine notebooks from over one million
users. Alongside this increase in the number of users,
harmo’s functions have expanded beyond traditional

medicine-related information to include personal healthrecords (PHR). Ultimately, we want to boost harmo’s
performance so that it can offer all health-related
information that contributes to individual user’s well-being.

About Medicine Notebook

In Japan, when one gets prescription drugs at pharmacies or hospitals, the name of medications, dosage and other information isrecorded in a notebook called “Medicine Notebook”.
Medicine Notebook started as an original service at some pharmacies, and from April, 2020, it is evaluated as medical service fees.
At present, there are electric services and paper notebooks.

Caring for the elderly in Japan

As of 2018, one out of four people of the whole Japanese population is an elderly. It is unavoidable that the needs for nursing care will continue toincrease. There are “home care” and “institutional care”, and although one can get specialized service by institutional care, the cost will be higher
compared to home care.
Depending on the care recipients’ health condition and financial situation, many will be using the care services at home. Because of the rapid increase ofelderlies, there are many social issues such as lack of professional caregivers and adult children taking care of their elder parents.

18

Nikkei WOMAN’s “The Best 100 Companies Where Women Actively Take Part”
Placed 23rd in the “Overall Ranking” and 4th for“Management Appointment Level”!
CMIC Holdings has been recognized for its
diverse initiatives, placing 23rd (28th last year) inthe “Overall Ranking” on Nikkei WOMAN’s “TheBest 100 Companies Where Women Actively Take
Part” for fiscal 2020. CMIC also attained arecord-high place for the “Management
Appointment Level” category, coming in at 4th(5th last year). Going forward, CMIC will continue
to support flexible work styles and actively strive
to build a comfortable work environment.

Overall Ranking
1st

IBM Japan

Management Appointment Level

2nd Accenture
3rd

Kao Group

4th

Aflac Life Insurance

5th

Resona Holdings

1st

IBM Japan

2nd Pfizer
3rd

23rd CMIC Holdings

Accenture

4th CMIC Holdings

Rankoshi Town in Hokkaido, Kyoto University, and CMIC Holdings
Started Cultivating Medicinal Plants for Raw Materials in Herbal Medicine,
Based on a Joint Research Contract
This March, CMIC Holdings concluded a joint research contract
with Kyoto University and the Town of Rankoshi in Isoya County,
Hokkaido. Based on this contract, the three parties have started tocultivate Asiatic ginseng, senega, perilla, and other medicinal
plants with strong market demand for use as raw materials in
traditional Chinese medicine and herbal remedies. Throughcooperation among industry, government, and academia, CMIC
aims to work with Kyoto University and the Town of Rankoshi toprovide strong support in building a lively community by cultivating
medicinal plants, thereby propelling all three parties forward.

Wakkanai

Rankoshi

SapporoAsahikawa
New Chitose
AirportKushiroMuroran
Hakodate

CMIC Group Enters into a Partnership Agreement with Yamanashi Prefecture
To Build a New Epidemic Prevention System in Yamanashi throughIndustry-Government-Academia Cooperation
In June 2020, CMIC Holdings concluded a partnershipagreement with Yamanashi Prefecture, aiming to build a new
epidemic prevention system in this prefecture. CMIC Pharma
Science Co., Ltd. is one of the largest non-clinical CROs in
Japan, and within the CMIC Group it handles non-clinical fields.
Since its headquarters is located in Yamanashi Prefecture, its
CMIC Bioresearch Center (a research facility located in

Kobuchisawa-cho, Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture) assists inemergencies by swiftly expanding testing systems. CMICGroup is committed to contributing to the safety and security
for all residents of Yamanashi Prefecture, and striving tostrengthen this prefecture’s new epidemic prevention systemthrough cooperation among industry, government, andacademia.

In June, a new research facility has been completed
at the CMIC Bioresearch Center,
which incorporates the latest air conditioning facilities
and airflow control systems.
It chiefly focuses on short-term breeding experiments,
and can accommodate GLP*1 and GMP*2 testing.
▲ Exterior view of the new research facility*1 GLP (Good Laboratory Practice): Standards for conducting non-clinical studies on pharmaceutical safety*2 GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice): Regulations for manufacturing and quality control of pharmaceuticals

For details and to read more of news releases, visit the CMIC Group’s website at:https://en.cmicgroup.com/news-events/
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