The Healthcare New Frontier policy strives to create a society where, amidst rapid population ageing, all can enjoy healthy longevity. This policy can be broken down into two overlapping approaches. The first approach is referred to as “curing ME-BYO” and the second approach focuses on advanced health care and health technologies.
Two Approaches of Healthcare New Frontier
© Healthcare New Frontier Promotion Bureau, Kanagawa Prefectural Government
Pursuit of Cutting Edge Healthcare and Advanced Health Technologies
The second approach within Healthcare New Frontier focuses on the pursuit of advanced healthcare and health technologies. Kanagawa Prefecture has long been a place where medical device and pharmaceutical companies, research organizations, and related academic institutions have gathered and contributed to the fields of medicine, life science, and industry. As the prefecture attempts to address unmet medical needs related to ageing and rare diseases, the practical application of innovative medicine, iPS cells and robotic technology is becoming an increasingly important function.
Curing ME-BYO
Kanagawa Prefecture’s Healthcare New Frontier health policy package centers on the concept of “ME-BYO,” which, in traditional Eastern medicine, is defined as neither healthy nor sick. Kanagawa Prefecture builds upon this concept by classifying the body’s condition as being in a state of constant transition that cannot be strictly categorized as being either healthy or sick.
