Community Healthcare and Nursing Care Support

In Japan’s aging society, while the population over age 65 is increasing and expected to peak in 2042, an acceleration is forecast in the decline of the working age population that will provide medical and nursing care. And there are regional differences in the progress of aging and the changes in population composition. Trends in demand for medical and nursing care also differ by region, and the medical and nursing care needs of patients and nursing care service users are changing over time. As a wide variety of social issues appear in stark relief, such as an increase in elderly people living alone, those watching over parents living apart, elderly people caring for elderly people, and more, it is necessary to resolve the labor shortage among medical and nursing care providers and improve the mechanisms whereby people can receive necessary medical and nursing care and lifestyle support services in familiar settings like their own homes. Also, to enable homebound patients and nursing care service users to enjoy greater quality of life and more convenient services, there is a need for medical and nursing care partnerships and for meticulous support that is tailored to each community’s circumstances.

In order to contribute to resolving medical and nursing care issues for each community and creating health for community residents, the Suzuken Group aims to link with our Group companies and partner companies that have expertise and resources in the healthcare field to launch new businesses based on a demand chain concept that starts with the needs of patients, local governments, and medical and nursing care providers. For ascertaining needs, we will utilize points of contact with patients established through the digital platform in which the Suzuken Group’s pharmacy businesses, nursing care businesses, and partner companies participate. Through these new businesses, we will build a community healthcare platform where communities – including local governments, medical institutions, pharmacies, nursing care facilities, and such – can work together to provide their community patients and residents with safe and secure lives.

In our pharmacy business, in November 2023, we began a partnership with Pharmarise Holdings and started initiatives such as a patient support service for pharmacies and the construction of a new pharmaceutical distribution model. In our nursing care business, we formed a comprehensive business partnership with Chubu Electric Power in March 2023. By combining the service that Chubu Electric Power operates for identifying elderly individuals potentially experiencing frailty^※ based on an analysis of their electricity use, with the Suzuken Group’s DX solution, which connects medical and nursing care providers, we are actively constructing a business model to support the health of community residents.

Based on patient needs identified through our Group’s pharmacy and nursing care businesses, in addition to the needs of users who utilize these services, we will work together with companies and local governments in communities to jointly develop and roll out new solutions to address the diverse medical and nursing care issues in each community.