Omron - Telemedicine for high blood pressure in India – Utilizing the huge market data

Recently Nihon Keizai Shimbun Electronic Edition reported the following:

オムロン、インドで高血圧遠隔診療　巨大市場データ活用

【イブニングスクープ】

ヘルスケア

2021年8月17日 18:05 [有料会員限定]

オムロンは高血圧患者が3億人にのぼるインドで遠隔診療に参入する。新興企業と組み、スマートフォンなど越しにサービスを提供する。新興国でも生活習慣病が社会問題化し、足元では新型コロナウイルス禍で医療が逼迫している。日本で普及が遅れる遠隔診療だが、デジタル技術で医療を効率的に提供する新たな選択肢として世界で広がる。

7月に資本参加したテラルス・テクノロジーズ（本社ベンガルール）の遠隔診療アプリを使い、まず高血圧の患者にサービスを提供する。利用者は血圧データなどをアプリに日々記録する。医療体制が十分でない地域であっても自宅にいながらにして医師に診療を依頼できる。

月1000ルピー（約1500円）程度の定額課金制で診察の回数制限は付けない。オムロンは利用者のデータを蓄積し、かかりつけ医に患者の生活状況や症例などから適切な医療処置を提案するシステムの開発もめざす。

インドは生活習慣病大国で、人口の約25%が高血圧との国際推計もある。国際糖尿病連合の推計では糖尿病患者数は2019年時点で7700万人と中国に次ぐ世界2位。日本の10倍強だ。45年には1億3000万人に達するとみられている。

血圧計で世界首位のオムロンはインド市場でも過半のシェアを持つが、普及率はなお低い。自宅に血圧計がある患者は2%にとどまるという。製品を買った顧客に遠隔診療を一定期間無料開放するなどして機器の販売増にもつなげる。心電計を活用した心疾患向け遠隔診療への参入も視野に入れる。

インドでは遠隔診療に関する制約が少ない。医師がアプリ上で診察代を提示し、患者が合意すればそのアプリを使った遠隔診療ができる。テラルスは民間事業者の一つで、20年にのべ30万人にサービスを提供した。

新型コロナウイルスの感染拡大を背景に遠隔診療は世界で広がっている。オムロンは英国や米国で参入済み。新興国では市場が大きいインドにまず進出する。25年をめどに世界で年100万人にサービスを提供することをめざす。

日本では診療報酬の低さなどがネックとなり遠隔診療の普及が遅れてきた。人口減や高齢化を見据えた医療体制の構築に向け、遠隔診療は医療過疎問題への対応にも役立つと期待される。

Translation

Omron would enter the telemedicine in India that had 300 million high blood pressure patients. In collaboration with a start-up company, it provided services through smartphones and other devices. Even in emerging countries, lifestyle-related diseases had become a social problem, and medical care was currently tight due to the new coronavirus disease. Telemedicine, which had been slow to spread in Japan, was spreading around the world as a new option to efficiently provide medical care with digital technology.

Terrals Technologies (Headquarters Bengaluru), which made a capital participation in July, would first provide services to high blood pressure patients by using a telemedicine app. The users would record their blood pressure data etc. in the app every day. Even in areas where the medical system was not sufficient, one still could rely on medical treatment from a doctor while staying at home.

There was no limit on the number of consultations with a flat-rate charge system of about 1000 rupees (about 1500 yen) per month. Omron also aimed to develop a system that accumulated user data and proposed appropriate medical treatment to family doctors based on the patient's living conditions and sick records etc.

India was a major lifestyle-related disease country, and there was an international estimate that about 25% of the population had high blood pressure. The International Diabetes Federation estimated that the number of diabetics was estimated to be 77 million as of 2019, the second largest in the world after China. It's over 10 times that of Japan, and was expected to reach 130 million in 2045.

Omron, the world leader in blood pressure monitors, had a majority share in the Indian market, but its penetration rate was still low. Only 2% of patients had a blood pressure monitor at home. By opening telemedicine to customers who bought the product free of charge for a certain period of time could lead to an increased sale of the equipment. The company was also considering entering telemedicine for heart diseases using an electrocardiograph.

There were few restrictions on telemedicine in India. The doctor presented the examination fee on an app, and if the patient agreed, telemedicine could be performed using an app. Terrals was one of the private businesses, in total had provided services to 300,000 people stretching over 20 years.

Telemedicine was spreading all over the world against the backdrop of the spread of the new coronavirus infection. Omron had already entered the market in the United Kingdom and the United States. In emerging countries, it would first expand into India which had a large market. It aimed at the goal of providing its service to 1 million people in the world in 2025.

In Japan, the spread of telemedicine had been delayed due to the low medical fees. Working towards building a medical system in anticipation of population decline and aging, telemedicine was expected to be useful in response to the depopulation problem in medical care.

              So, Telemedicine is spreading all over the world against the backdrop of the spread of the Covid-19. Omron will expand into India which has a large market by offering a new way to provide medical care by making use of the new digital technology.