On Establishment of an Institutional System for More Comprehensive and Accurate Medical Statistics: Learning from the English Expertise and Experience

Abstract

In Japan, the legislation called, Anonymously Processed Medical Information to Contribute to Medical Research and Development, came into force on 11 May 2018. Under the terms of the new law, a number of authorised service providers could be permitted to collect healthcare records from various medical and nursery-care institutions and to provide anonymously processed information to those who utilise medical statistics for their research. Prior to this Japanese programme, England has successfully implemented a similar system, following failure with "Care dot Data" (2013–6) due to a loss of public trust. This study hence explores the current noteworthy English fruitful endeavour to develop an institutional system for the secondary usage of healthcare information for more comprehensive and accurate medical statistics in healthcare research. It aims to discuss in what ways Japan should establish its counterpart. Drawing on the findings from Beck (1998), Giddens (1993), Luhmamn (1990), our research takes account of the social role of specialists and experts' expertise that includes the importance of medical statistics and statistical insight in our modern society because it takes an essential part of establishing contemporary social and public order vis-à-vis public trust on experts and the social system.