There are approximately 94,000 medical clinics in Japan. Of these, the proportion in which electronic medical record systems are available is estimated at only around 5%. Japan’s MHLW plans to achieve the higher-than-60% goal by 2006, although this goal is no longer realistic. Nevertheless, a sharp rise in the adoption rate is seen particularly among newly established clinics.

A number of medical record system vendors exhibited their products at The Modern Hospital Show 2005, which reflects a growing interest in these systems designed for the medical clinic use. Moreover, a significant number of feature articles on this topic recently appeared in medical journals.

Earlier editions of this same publication - The Electronic Medical Record Market Survey, Vol. 1 (winter 2003) and Vol. 2 (spring 2004) - mainly focused on electronic medical record systems designed to be used in hospitals. These editions identified the current situation of hospitals in which these solutions are already available, and the needs of those which have not adopted them.

The latest (2005) edition of these, a sequel to the earlier editions, highlights issues that needs to be resolved, providing information that can be used for developing the electronic medical record business. Interviews were conducted with medical clinics, since these systems are widely being used in this sector.