Guy Harris Chair	Abby Pratt Vice Chair

2008 Committee Description

The subcommittee seeks to inform stakeholders and influence policy aimed at liberalizing the Japanese healthcare market to for-profit management and operations. This year we have continued our main goals, namely:

1.  Bring together companies with an interest in expanding the healthcare services industry in Japan.

2.  Promote greater value in the Japanese medical system via the increased productivity and efficiencies offered by member companies and aim to bring market forces to bear on solutions to emerging healthcare reform.

3.  Facilitate the availability of choice to users of the Japanese medical system

Our members come from a wife range of backgrounds, mostly as private individuals or small companies. Few are directly involved in the provision of healthcare services.

The regulatory barrier to for-profit ownership means that very few companies actually operate in this field; as a result, representation by large companies in the subcommittee is minimal. This Catch 22 situation remains an ongoing barrier to the consistent operations of the subcommittee, and we are in fact the only group within the Chamber whose members are unable to conduct business in the field of the group.

2008 Committee Objectives

• Promote greater value in the Japanese medical system via the increased productivity and efficiencies offered by member companies and aim to bring market forces to bear on solutions to emerging healthcare reform
• Bring together companies with an interest in expanding the healthcare services industry in Japan
• Highlight the range of international best practice models to which Japanese policy makers may refer
• Expand the research and education functions of the subcommittee

Additionally, in response to new developments we identified in the funding and capitalization of medical institutions, themselves resulting from exacerbating operating conditions for hospitals and increased numbers of hospital closures, we have focused this year on highlighting new funding models for Japanese institutions.