2024 Volume 41 Issue 4 Pages 499-503
Nagasaki Prefecture has four remote island medical districts (Iki, Tsushima, Kamigoto, and Goto) located around 100 to 200 km from the center of Nagasaki City. Nagasaki City and Omura City on the mainland are among the areas with the enormous excess of physicians in Japan, while the remote islands are in the exact opposite situation and can be considered a microcosm of the uneven distribution of doctors in Japan. Until now, the remote island emergency imaging and diagnosis support system has run effectively, leading to the establishment of a D–to–D type of telemedicine. In 2021, specialized medical teleconsultation of D to D to P/ D to P with D telemedicine by Nagasaki University Hospital was adopted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications for the “Development demonstration for the realization of problem-solving local 5G”. Based on the results, in 2023, the project was implemented in actual clinical practice to support attending physicians on remote islands by utilizing next–generation telecommunications technology by specialists in gastroenterology, neurology, and dermatology, where high–resolution, real–time images are considered particularly effective. In addition to the benefits of specialized medical care, such as early diagnosis and intervention for remote island patients, reduction of off–island consultations, and reform in how specialists work, human resource development for physicians and medical staff is highly anticipated.
