Tokyo Midtown Medicine Introduces New Medical Practices to Tokyo Through Alliance with Johns Hopkins

June 2007 -- Japan's healthcare market has been the destination for a number of U.S. medical device and pharmaceutical companies, but rarely does one hear of a medical institution being involved to the extent Johns Hopkins Medicine International (JHI) is in its alliance with Tokyo Midtown Medicine Co., Ltd. (TMM), a medical consortium in Japan.

Through the alliance, JHI provides TMM with Johns Hopkins' organizational model, human resource management and evaluation methods, clinical protocols, and brand recognition. Using these resources, TMM opened the Tokyo Midtown Medical Center this past March. The Medical Center is a multi-specialty out-patient complex offering services in general internal medicine, diagnostic imaging, aesthetic medicine, women's health, and dentistry among others.

Tetsuya Furukawa, chief operating officer of TMM, described the process of creating the Medical Center and how the alliance formed. Knowing the Medical Center would be located in the tallest building in Tokyo and in the high-end Midtown district, TMM wanted to provide "a suitable level of service with high quality and high hospitality," Furukawa said. To do this, he looked to the medical institutions of the U.S. "since treatment technology is probably the most advanced in the United States compared with other parts of the world," he said.

Through introductions made by JETRO, TMM evaluated several U.S. institutions, including the Mayo Clinic, UCLA Medical Center, and University Hospital of Cleveland, ultimately choosing Johns Hopkins Medicine. "Johns Hopkins has been rated by U.S. News & World Report as the number one medical institution in the United States for over ten years," Furukawa said, citing one of the main reasons for the decision.

Once an agreement was struck, TMM began creating the Medical Center using Johns Hopkins' organizational model. "Knowing how the organization is structured at Johns Hopkins and in the United States in general has been very beneficial to our clinic," he said.

JHI works with the Medical Center to practice outcomes-based medicine, where physicians focus on the results of their care more than the number of patients they serve or the amount of time patients stay in the hospital. "Japanese people and American people think about their time differently," Furukawa said, addressing improvement of resource management. "Lots of surgeries or even cancer treatments in the United States are done in a day; patients don't have to stay in the hospital." Lawrence W. Patrick, managing director at JHI, added, "Japan has the longest average length of stay for hospital admission in the world. It's costly to keep patients in the hospital if you don't need to. They can provide the same services on an out-patient basis and reduce cost immensely. We are looking at ways to help them come up with a way to do that in a clinically safe manner that the patients understand."

JHI also shares Johns Hopkins' nurse and physician protocols and provides an educational training program for the staff. "TMM's doctors and medical staff are sent to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for training on site," described Furukawa. "At the same time, Johns Hopkins' medical staff and physicians visit Tokyo Midtown Medical Center."

Furthermore, the Johns Hopkins brand is translating well in Japan. Furukawa has seen a significant amount of staff applications as well as media attention due to the affiliation. It is also drawing a number of non-Japanese patients, many of whom come from nearby Roppongi, an area known for its concentration of foreign companies and embassies. Thirty percent of the patients are foreigners. All the physicians speak English, as does most of the staff.

An indirect benefit that Furukawa sees from the partnership is a growth in perspective. "In the States, as you know, there is a lot of diversity, so there are many different ideas that exist. We can learn a lot from different points of view."

As a result of all that is gained from Johns Hopkins, Furukawa said, "The Japanese community has seen the improvement of the services that are provided at the clinic, and also, they are very interested in the advanced technologies introduced into this clinic through the affiliation."

Patrick believes they are just scratching the surface in Japan with the affiliation model with Tokyo Midtown Medical Center. "All indications at this stage are that the model that Johns Hopkins is developing with Tokyo Midtown Medicine is very popular; it's well received. The medical community and the professional community support it. I think that this model is going to catch on, and you'll see more of these types of affiliations in Japan."

For more information on the healthcare market in Japan, visit:

• Medical Care Market Overview
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