Exchange of Views with Uppsala University (Sweden)

In November last year, Professor Taku Iwami (Department of Implementation Science for Health Security) and graduate student Tomoyuki Yamamoto visited Uppsala University in Sweden and met with Professor Maria Hägglund and her research team for an exchange of views.

Professor Hägglund shared insights from her team’s implementation science research on eHealth, which has been advanced mainly in the Nordic region, including their accumulated research and implementation experience as well as on-the-ground challenges. From the Kyoto University side, recent initiatives supported by AMED and the participants discussed future directions for joint research.

Patient portals in the Nordic region—systems that provide patients with access to information such as electronic health records—have certain commonalities with Japan’s public information services centered on “My Number Portal”. Comparative analysis of implementation processes across countries is expected to provide important insights for the future operation and improvement of healthcare systems.

 
Exchange of Views with the University of Oulu (Finland)

During the same trip, the delegation also visited the University of Oulu in Finland. They met with Professor Juhani Junttila (University of Oulu / Oulu University Hospital), a leading researcher in the cardiovascular field who has conducted collaborative research with Professor Iwami through international initiatives such as “The Lancet Commissions”. In addition to the discussion, the visitors were also given a tour of the university’s digital health incubator.

Through this visit, the delegation deepened their understanding of potential research collaboration related to cardiac arrest, as well as approaches to building an environment that promotes the translation of research outcomes into practice and strengthens academia–industry collaboration.

Following the visits, coordination between the two groups has continued toward developing concrete plans for collaboration with Nordic research institutions.