J Korean Phys Ther.  2022 Oct;34(5):224-233. 10.18857/jkpt.2022.34.5.224.

The Actual Conditions of Visiting Rehabilitation in Japan Identified through Japanese Government Reports

• Lee M

• KMID: 2536779
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.18857/jkpt.2022.34.5.224

Abstract

Purpose
In Japan, the Long-Term Care Insurance Act has stipulated visiting rehabilitation since 2000. This study aimed to identify the actual conditions of visiting rehabilitation in Japan through a literature review of reports published by the Japanese government.
Methods
This literature review was conducted on eight articles among various government reports on the topic of the actual conditions of visiting rehabilitation. These reports were published by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan based on their own investigations or reports from an external agency entrusted with the task, and were issued between 2000 and 2021.
Results
The characteristics of the visiting rehabilitation offices, their number, manpower allocation, the number of users, and their visits to each office were identified. Also, the characteristics of the users, number of users, age and required degree of long-term care, causative disease, and required medical care were identified. To evaluate the actual status of the visiting rehabilitation service, the service use time, frequency, period of use, intervention by doctors and the degree of such intervention, therapist's service content, visitors' address before the use of the service, reason, and timing of the service introduction, evaluation of the service effectiveness, combination of services and transfer destination after termination, and status after service termination were checked.
Conclusion
Based on the Japanese experience where visiting rehabilitation was introduced and applied to long-term care insurance, it would be meaningful to review the factors that required benchmarking among the Japanese service models while designing a similar model in Korea.

Keyword

Community care; Japan; Long-Term Care Insurance Act; Physical therapist; Visiting rehabilitation