Strengthening the Healthcare IT Business—
The High Hopes for Development Are Exciting
─ Could you tell us how both of you feel about LSIM and Medicom being together in the PHC Group?
Watanabe:One of our company’s main pillar is the clinical testing business, which has deep ties with Medicom. About 2,000 out of 3,500 employees are involved here, and I think this clinical testing business has close affinity with Medicom’s electronic medical record (EMR) systems.
I have high expectations that a new business model for “utilizing testing information” will be completed, as we become a member of the PHC Group and integrate our clinical testing with Medicom’s knowhow on healthcare IT.
This means a significant contribution to Japan’s healthcare, and it’s very worthwhile. I definitely want efforts and cooperation from both sides to develop new businesses. Our challenge is to attract as many customers as we can, and I’m looking forward to that.
Otsuka:I believe the healthcare service business in Japan will become really exciting, because Medicom, that has been the healthcare IT service provider for medical institutions for 48 years, and LSIM with the main business in clinical testing, are now in the same group. This has great significance in the aging society, leading to the strengthening and development of the PHC Group’s testing/diagnostics and healthcare IT businesses. By utilizing the customer base in the two companies, and bringing technologies and expertise from both sides, we can expect various synergies with our existing businesses and provide newer values to our customers.
For example, if LSIM’s clinical testing and Medicom’s IT solutions are linked, and the procedures from test application to result report are digitized, the medical institution can streamline their workflow, while patients can digitally manage their test history.