Abstract
According to the 2006 Health Care Reform Plan, the Japanese government intends to further develop the home care. The reform plan requires for each prefecture government to reduce the number of long-term care beds by transforming these facilities into a new type of "home for the aged", such as assisted livings and nursing homes in order to promote alternatives of in-patient care. Many countries are trying to develop alternatives to in-patient care because of increasing health care costs, pressure on acute hospital beds and increasing concern about quality of life. Developments in medical technology, improvement in housing and an increasing emphasis on primary care have all encouraged innovations that reduce reliance on in-patient care. One of such alternatives of in-patient care is Hospitalization at Home care (HAHC). The HAHC provides health care for the patients who would otherwise require hospital stay. In this article, the author will discuss the possibility to develop the Japanese style HAHC based on the comparative analysis of HAHC of France and UK.
