Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's administration has made digitalization a top priority in an effort to transform the nation's economy and society, but as far as the medical care sector is concerned, steps toward that goal are not off to a smooth start. Beginning in March, the government started rolling out My Number cards embedded with IC chips that can double as health care insurance cards. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry says use of the new cards, which all Japan residents can apply for, would simplify administrative procedures at hospitals and streamline applications for tax deductions for medical expenses. But the rate of uptake for the cards is low at around 25% and, due to the pandemic, many health care providers are not in a rush to install the facial recognition systems used to scan My Number cards. In order to use their My Number cards as a health insurance card, users must apply for the card and register online, while health care providers need to install proper card-reading equipment and overhaul their computer systems.

The government is considering having hospitals introduce a facial recognition system to identify patients using My Number tax and social security identification cards as health insurance cards, sources have said. The move is designed to help prevent the fraudulent use of My Number cards and promote the spread of online procedures for public services. The use of My Number cards as health insurance cards at hospitals will become possible as early as March 2021 as the Diet passed related legislation last month. But such use is raising concerns among hospitals about potential problems that could arise if hospital staff accept My Number cards from patients for identification purposes. The government is considering having patients themselves take care of the identification procedures for the cards. Some companies, including NEC Corp. and Panasonic Corp., already sell facial recognition systems.