Market Overview

Adoption of ICT services for clinics (general clinics without beds for hospitalization) and pharmacies (dispensing pharmacies) is expanding gradually along with the spread of mission-critical systems (Electronic Medical/Health Record and Electronic Medication History System) at clinics and pharmacies, as well as growing penetration of smartphones.

Clinic ICT encompasses medical appointment system, which have been widely used for over two decades, as well as online medical care system and patient interview system (via online or tablets), which have gained significant traction in the past ten years.
The introduction of these three systems accelerated in FY2020 and FY2021, driven by the need to avoid “Three Cs” (closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings) during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the availability of government subsidies.
In recent years, some companies have begun offering comprehensive ICT services, which integrate a broad range of functions, including appointments scheduling, patient interviews, and online consultations.

In contrast, the Pharmacy ICT market emerged rapidly in the latter half of FY2020 following the lifting of the ban on online medication guidance and the mandate of medication follow-ups. Unlike Clinic ICT (which expanded gradually) Pharmacy ICT spread quickly as installations often proceeded on a chain-wide basis.

Under the circumstances, the size of the domestic medical ICT market for clinics and pharmacies in FY2023 (based on the sales of businesses) was estimated at 61,108 million yen, 108.4% of the previous fiscal year.

Noteworthy Topics

Clinic ICT: System Boundaries Blurred, Rise of Comprehensive ICT

In the Clinic ICT field, the boundaries between systems have blurred in recent years. Many appointment systems now incorporate functions for preliminary patient interviews, along with online medical care and payment capabilities.
In some cases, mission-critical systems like the Electronic Medical Record system are being integrated with appointment scheduling, preliminary patient interviews, and online consultation functions.
This trend is accelerating in tandem with the growing adoption of cloud-based EMR systems. Furthermore, some vendors have begun offering comprehensive ICT that combine a wide range of functions, including appointment booking, preliminary patient interviews, and online care services into a single platform.

Future Outlook

The market size of Clinic ICT and Pharmacy ICT in Japan for FY2024 is forecasted to reach 64,443 million yen, representing 105.5% of that of the previous fiscal year. The market is also forecasted to grow further to attain 78,824 million yen by FY2030, which is 1.53 times the market size of FY2021.

Research Outline