Japan is at the edge of a major push into telemedicine.
Telemedicine Today vol. The second barrier, reimbursement under the national health insurance scheme, is also coming down. Koseisho announced in July that it will reimburse for specified telemedicine procedures beginning April, 1997. A committee headed by Prof. Shigekoto Kaihara, President of the Japan Association of Medical Informatics, has been established to advise on which applications should get the golden nod. Symbolic of these changes is the large international map on the office wall of Dr. Hirozo Ueda, Director of Koseisho's Office of Medical Technology and Information Development and perhaps the official most closely involved in telemedicine development.