International Journal of General Medicine (Feb 2024)

How Do We Establish the Utility and Evidence of General Medicine in Japan?

  • Tago M,
  • Hirata R,
  • Takahashi H,
  • Yamashita S,
  • Nogi M,
  • Shikino K,
  • Sasaki Y,
  • Watari T,
  • Shimizu T

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 17
pp. 635 – 638

Abstract

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Masaki Tago,1 Risa Hirata,1 Hiromizu Takahashi,2 Shun Yamashita,1,3 Masayuki Nogi,4,5 Kiyoshi Shikino,6 Yosuke Sasaki,7 Takashi Watari,8 Taro Shimizu9 1Department of General Medicine, Saga University Hospital, Saga, Japan; 2Department of General Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Juntendo University, Tokyo, Japan; 3Education and Research Center for Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Japan; 4Hospitalist Division, The Queen’s Medical Center, Honolulu, HI, USA; 5Department of General Internal Medicine, Kameda Medical Center, Chiba, Japan; 6Department of General Medicine, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba, Japan; 7Department of General Medicine and Emergency Care, Toho University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; 8General Medicine Center, Shimane University Hospital, Shimane, Japan; 9Department of Diagnostic and Generalist Medicine, Dokkyo Medical University, Tochigi, JapanCorrespondence: Masaki Tago, Department of General Medicine, Saga University Hospital, 5-1-1 Nabeshima, Saga, 849-8501, Japan, Tel +81 952 34 3238, Fax +81 952 34 2029, Email [email protected]: Hospital Medicine in the United States has achieved significant progress in the accumulation of evidence. This development has influenced the increasing societal demand for General Medicine in Japan. Generalists in Japan actively engage in a wide range of interdisciplinary clinical practices, education, and management. Furthermore, Generalists have also contributed to advances in research. However, there is limited evidence regarding the benefits of General Medicine in Japan in all these areas, with most of the evidence derived from single-center studies. In Japan, the roles of Generalists are diverse, and the comprehensive definition of General Medicine makes it difficult to clearly delineate its scope. This results in an inadequate accumulation of evidence regarding the benefits of General Medicine, potentially making it less attractive to the public and younger physicians. Therefore, it is necessary to categorize General Medicine and collect clear evidence regarding its benefits.Keywords: classification, evidence, general medicine

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