A Narrative Review of Current Status and Future Perspective of Telemedicine for Parkinson's Disease, Dementia, and Intractable Neurological Diseases in Japan

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has uncovered several inherent problems in society. While the demand for telemedicine surged worldwide and some countries responded flexibly, in Japan, most telemedicine services were limited to telephone consultations, and full-fledged telemedicine did not become widespread. In addition, the digitalization process in both medicine and wider society lags behind some other nations. It is necessary to accelerate digital transformation in healthcare to build a sustainable society that is resilient to crises, such as new pandemics. In particular, as Japan is facing an issue of super-aged society, a sustainable care model for people with Parkinson’s disease, dementia, and intractable neurological diseases should be established. Many neurodegenerative and intractable neurological diseases are progressive; as the disease progresses, patients could become difficult to visit specialists. Although online medical care has many advantages, it does not provide the same quality of information as face-to-face consultations. However, new technology can overcome the limitations of online medical care. As an evolutionary direction for telemedicine, three-dimensional telemedicine technologies are being developed, which enable online medical treatment to be delivered as if the patient was sharing the same space. Telemonitoring can enable the objective and continuous evaluation of patient information at home through the use of motion capture, wearable devices, and other devices. The advancement of digital transformation in medical care should be a game-changer in accumulating big data and analyzing it using artificial intelligence.