- The application provides "how to deal with basic children's health problems and home care contents," "chat consultation with specialists," "online medical care," and "nighttime house calls" all in one application!
- Ideal for the new Corona era, when consultation services for children's health are decreasing and the hurdles to hospital visits are increasing!
- Currently available in Tokyo and three prefectures as well as in major metropolitan areas throughout Japan, the service area is expected to expand further!
Kids Doctor" introduced here is an application that provides "useful information for dealing with children's health problems," "chat health consultation with nurses and other experts," "online medical care," and "nighttime house calls" appointment services. It allows users to consult with experienced nurses about various health problems (illnesses, injuries, etc.) of children, and to receive online medical care and house calls by doctors on weekdays, weeknights, weekends, and holidays. This service won the grand prize in the "BabyTech® Award Japan 2021 Health Management Category. The BabyTech.jp editorial staff interviewed Hirohiro Tabita, President and Representative Director of Northstar Corporation, the developer of "Kids Doctor" (titles below omitted), to learn more about the service, how it was developed, and its future development.
(We spoke to...)
Northstar Corporation President and Representative Director
Kodai Takita
To be a "good-luck charm" for parents during hours when the hospital is not open.
Editorial:Thank you very much for your time today. Could you begin by giving us an overview of "Kids Doctor" and its features?
Taipei:Kids Doctor is a smartphone application with the theme of staying close to children's health. It can be used in such situations as when you have a problem with your child's health during hours when hospitals are not open, or when your child has a fever but should you go to the hospital.
The first specific function is "health consultation via chat. This is a window where you can casually consult with us about your child's health in the event that you have any problems. This service is available from 19:00 to 22:00 on weekdays and from 10:00 to 22:00 on weekends and holidays. Some of the nurses who respond to inquiries have experience in providing health counseling over the phone in the past. They provide general medical information on various symptoms of children and recommend medical examinations (consultation on whether or not a hospital should be consulted).
Editorial:This is very helpful because it is difficult for parents to decide whether or not to go to the hospital for a sudden fever.
Taipei:I have two children myself, and it was difficult to make a decision, especially when the first was small and crying with a fever. Should I take him to the hospital immediately or should I rest and watch him? I could see that if I went to an emergency hospital after hours, I would have to wait 2-3 hours. ......
Editorial:My daughter is 3 years old as well, so I understand very well. I found Kids Doctor to be a wonderful source of reassurance for parents.
Taipei:Thank you very much. Another great feature of Kids Doctor is "cooperation with medical services". General telephone consultation services provided by local governments and companies will help you decide whether or not you need to see a doctor, but if you do, you will need to find a hospital nearby yourself. On the other hand, Kids Doctor can connect you to an online doctor's appointment service from a health consultation via chat, or make an appointment for a doctor to come to your home in the form of a nighttime house call in cooperation with a medical institution.
Editorial:Is Kids Doctor affiliated with hospitals in each area? For example, is Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, where I live, a service area?
Taipei:Medical services such as online medical care and nighttime house calls are being offered throughout Japan in partnership with local medical institutions. Unfortunately, Chiba City, Chiba Prefecture, is still outside of the service area, as laws and regulations require that such medical services be provided within a certain distance from medical institutions. We are expanding our service area to other areas where we do not currently provide medical services, while expanding the circle of cooperation with medical institutions.
Also provides tips on how to deal with various children's health problems under the supervision of a physician.
Editorial:When I actually visit the Kids Doctor application, I see that it provides information on various children's health problems under the title "Home Care Book. Fever, vomiting, runny nose, diarrhea, eczema, shallow breathing, head injury, constipation...... almost seems to cover the situations that parents think "What should I do? I think it covers almost all the situations that parents think, "What should I do? I am very grateful to be able to consult with a medical professional via chat after reading this.
Taipei:In the course of receiving various consultations through the chat consultation, we have reflected in the Home Care Book those consultations that we receive particularly frequently and those that parents may be concerned about. Of course, the contents are thoroughly supervised by doctors, and we intend to continue expanding the reliable information in the future.
Editorial:If you search the Internet, you will often find "unreliable information" or information that says the exact opposite. As long as you check Kids Doctor, you will be fine! It would be reassuring as a parent or guardian if it were the case.
In the context of the new coronas, online medical care was exactly what was long awaited.
Editorial:By the way, when did you start operating the online medical services provided by Kids Doctor?
Taipei:This will start in April 2020. Until then, the initial consultation for online medical care had to be done in person, and the expected target patients were mainly those with chronic illnesses. In January 2022, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) will release new guidelines for online medical services, and the environment surrounding online medical services is likely to change significantly in the future.
Editorial:This is also very much appreciated, as it is quite difficult to take a limping child to the hospital.
Taipei:In the past, taking a child with a fever or cough to an emergency room would have involved the risk of passing on the illness to someone coming in with an injury or other trauma. Online medical care can be expected to prevent such risks, and we believe that this service is a good match for the era of the new coronas.
Editorial:At this time, in which areas are Kids Doctor's online medical services and nighttime house calls available?
Taipei:Online medical services are available in all of Tokyo and three prefectures, and nighttime house calls are available in Aichi, Fukuoka, Osaka, Hyogo, and parts of Hokkaido in addition to Tokyo and three prefectures.
Editorial:By the way, what are the approximate additional transportation costs for a nighttime house call?
Taipei:We charge 800-1,000 yen, depending on the area.
Many advantages unique to "health counseling via chat" and "online medical care
Editorial:Can you tell us how Kids Doctor was developed?
Taipei:Our parent company, Eversense, released Kids Doctor in 2017. At that time, we were providing nighttime house call service only in Tokyo. Then in 2021, our company was established and after transferring the business, we began full-scale development. Originally, Eversense was working on childcare information media for pregnant women and parents with small children. In that context, there was a very strong demand from users for information and medical support for their children's health, which led to the development of Kids Doctor .......
Editorial:What kind of feedback have you received from those who have used Kids Doctor?
Taipei: With the number of consultation services for children's health decreasing due to the new strain of coronary disease, many have found Kids Doctor's chat health consultation and online medical services useful. Many people have told us that they are grateful for Kids Doctor's ability to provide easy health consultations in a situation where the hurdles to seeing a pediatrician have been raised and consultation services at public health centers have been closed.
In addition, while general telephone health consultation services are sometimes disconnected even after repeated calls, the chat service Kid's Doctor seems to be highly rated for its smooth connection. Also, while telephone consultations do not leave a record of the consultation, some customers said that the chat service allows them to read back the consultation after it is over, which is reassuring. Users also appreciate that Kids Doctor's online medical service allows them to send their prescriptions to a nearby pharmacy and receive their medications, and that they can also receive their medications on the spot during nighttime house calls.
Editorial:Parents are in a rush when they are consulting with us about their child's illness, so it is really nice to be able to calmly read back the consultation and answers later. On the phone, I would be like, "What did he say, ......?" If I call, I would have to say, "What did he say?
Kids Doctor further expands its services for children's health
Editorial:Finally, can you tell us about the future development of Kids Doctor?
Taipei:Our basic concept is to continue to provide a service that can serve as a guide for parents when they are unsure about their children's health. One of the directions we would like to take in the future is to expand the field of information content. Currently, the information content we provide mainly deals with children's health problems, but in the future we would like to provide information on "clothing, food, and shelter" that shape children's health. In other words, we will provide content that children can access even when they are healthy. We would like to offer not only information, but also services and goods for sale.
As for medical services, we will expand the areas where nighttime house calls can be made and online medical services are available. We will also work to expand the hours during which these services can be provided. Currently, most of the areas where services are provided end at midnight, and only some areas are open until 5:00 a.m., but we would like to expand this. We will work with medical institutions to expand services in terms of such "hours" and "areas.
After the interview
The author's child often had a fever or runny nose at the wrong time and the family hospital was out of hours, so she found such a service to be a lifesaver indeed. Especially for families with two working parents, it is sometimes difficult to take their children to the hospital during the medical institution's hours of operation. Furthermore, under the circumstances of the new coronary disease, there are not many hospitals that can immediately treat children with fever. We hope that many parents and guardians will install this application on their smartphones in place of a good-luck charm!
Kids Doctor" Official Website
https://kids-doctor.jp/
