Promoting Sustainable Regional Health Care in Japan: Developing a Public Online Map of Health Care Resources and Information
Home Health Care Management & Practice
Published online on February 11, 2016
Abstract
To supply sustainable health care to cancer patients, it is important to continuously deliver appropriate information regarding community health care resources and to develop an accessible medical system. We developed an information-sharing system using geographical data called the "Resource Map for Community Cooperation in Cancer Care" (http://cancerqa.scchr.jp/shizuoka/ganmap/). This system is based on registered public data available in Shizuoka Prefecture and provides the user with information concerning more than 7,000 medically related facilities (e.g., hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies). The system’s information database was derived from existing official regional data. After a probation period, we identified three factors that promote Information technology (IT) system usage for sustainable health care management: (1) visual presentation of information and usability, (2) information management, and (3) contribution to social innovation.