Providing Medical Care for All―Mobile Clinic for Depopulated and Earthquake-Affected Areas

This time, Toyota Times News features the Medical Mover, developed by Toyota Auto Body.

The Medical Mover is a vehicle that was developed to deliver medical services to people living in places with no hospital nearby, such as mountain villages and remote islands. It is being used for online consultations, which have seen increasing demand.

The vehicle is based on a HiAce van and has a large monitor installed that enables patients to speak face-to-face with a doctor located remotely during their appointment. Patients sit on a bench sofa with the corner cut away, making it easy to move their legs to face the doctor on the screen. The movable handrail has been adjusted to a height and length that enables them to get in and out easily.

A member of the development team, Tomoya Hirakawa from Toyota Auto Body, says, "We still don't know a lot about medical care, so we go to where it's being used and work to improve our vehicle."

This Medical Mover is also in operation on the Noto Peninsula, which experienced strong earthquakes last January. Here, it is used not only to provide medical services but also to deliver relief supplies.

It is being used in ways that weren't predicted by the development team. This means there is room for improvement. Another member of Hirokawa's team Koichi Yabuta, who listens to people at the genba, saying, "If people don't use it, we don't know what needs fixing."

Takuo Ishikawa, Toyota Auto Body operating officer, also comments, "We want to build a society where medical services are provided equally across the country." He says the Medical Mover is a tool to achieve that.

The development team continues to find room for improvement onsite with their mobile clinic, in pursuit of delivering medical care that meets the needs of communities in various regions and situations. In this episode, we follow them in action.