Fujitsu Launches New Cloud-based Platform for Healthcare Sector in Japan 

TOKYO, March 28, 2023 -- Fujitsu today announced the launch of a new cloud-based platform that allows users to securely collect and leverage health-related data to promote digital transformation in the medical field. The new offering represents part of Fujitsu’s ongoing efforts to contribute to the creation of a healthy society as part of its vision for “Healthy Living” under Fujitsu Uvance to create a sustainable world. Fujitsu will offer the new platform to medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies in Japan starting March 28, 2023.

The new platform enables the automatic conversion of medical data from medical institutions' electronic medical records to conform with the next generation standards framework HL7 FHIR and secure aggregation of health-related data. Based on their consent, patients can securely store personal health information such as vital data, step counts, and calorie consumption – converted into non-personally identifiable information on the platform – this in turn supports medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies in performing data analysis and R&D activities to accelerate the development of individualized healthcare and the discovery of new drugs.

Fujitsu will use the platform as a launching point for further planning to develop a data portability service that enables patients to view their medical data on their smartphones, as well as a service for medical institutions to conduct highly accurate analysis of shared medical data on the platform.

Kunihiro Ohyama, director for the Japan Healthcare Industry Lead at Microsoft Japan, commented: “Microsoft is utilizing cloud services and AI technologies in the healthcare field and promoting the next generation standards framework HL7 FHIR. We are also actively working on data utilization and personalized healthcare. We believe that Fujitsu’s new platform will contribute to the realization of more advanced medical care. Microsoft will support the digital health ecosystem enabled by this platform, and work together with Fujitsu to provide better medical services and improve people’s health.”

Moving forward, Fujitsu aims to leverage this platform to realize an AI and IoT based preventive healthcare system, and cooperate with various medical institutions and companies to realize a digital health ecosystem that creates new value for society.

Features of the New Platform

1. Automatic conversion of medical data into HL7 FHIR, the next-generation medical information standard:

• Data from medical institutions’ electronic medical record systems can be automatically converted to a format in accordance with JP Core (FHIR JP Core Implementation Guide Version 1.1.1), the latest Japanese implementation guideline under the next generation standards framework HL7 FHIR for health information exchange, and then stored on the platform.
• Platform enables easy utilization and exchange of data compliant with standards for healthcare information.

2. Aggregation of a wide range of health-related data:

• In addition to clinical data from electronic medical records, the platform also supports the collection of personal health data including vital data, step counts, and calorie consumption (aggregation of health-check data will be possible in the future).
• Users including medical institutions and pharmaceutical companies will be able to utilize a wide range of data aggregated on the platform for more detailed data analysis in medical practice and clinical research and the development of new drugs.

3. Robust security measures to support safe and secure data utilization:

• The platform is based on Microsoft’s “Microsoft Azure” and operates in a safe and secure cloud environment, with robust security measures compliant with the “Guidelines for Safety Management of Medical Information Systems” of the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) and guidelines set forth by Japanese ministries.

Possible Applications of the New Platform

Utilization in Medical Institutions

• Promotion of individualized health care, including the selection of appropriate drugs and treatment methods based on medical data from multiple medical institutions, vital data of patients, and a detailed understanding of patients’ health conditions (patient journey, including patients’ medical history, daily physical condition, allergies, and physical constitution etc.).
• Standardization of data formats to reduce time required to collect, process, and organize data and ultimately increase the efficiency of clinical research and the creation of medical reports.

Utilization by Well-being Companies

• Anonymously processed data from clinical practice as well as laboratory data from patients in clinical trials collected on the platform will enable pharmaceutical companies to conduct more detailed, efficient and faster validation of drugs and medical treatments including side effects, shorten time required for the development of new drugs and increase the success rate of drug development and expand the application of already approved drugs.
• Life insurance companies will be able to utilize accumulated health data to automatically generate personalized insurance product plans, improve the quality of proposals and closing rates, and reduce time required to propose and create plans.

Future Plans

Moving forward, Fujitsu will leverage this new platform to provide preventive medical care, including AI based early diagnosis of disease risks and visualization of physical and mental health conditions using IoT technologies. Fujitsu further aims to realize a digital health ecosystem by developing services in cooperation with insurance companies to automatically generate personalized insurance plans based on medical data, as well as health-related services in cooperation with wellbeing companies.

Source: Fujitsu