Medical Care at Home and Disasters: Ensure Systems to Provide Continuous Care for Patients

Editorial

14:51 JST, March 12, 2026

When a major disaster strikes, if patients are in medical institutions or nursing care facilities, there would be fewer cases in which staff members struggle to confirm their safety and provide them with support.

However, it is not easy for patients at home to continuously receive medical care services. As the population ages, it is hoped that systems will be established that ensure medical institutions providing medical services to patients at home can respond properly even during emergencies.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry intends to require clinics and hospitals providing home visits for medical care and other services to formulate business continuity plans (BCPs) for times of disaster.

In next fiscal year’s medical service fee revisions, establishing a BCP will be a requirement for opening clinics that serve as a hub for home-based medical care services, among other facilities. Existing medical institutions must formulate BCPs by the end of May next year.

A BCP refers to a plan to enable businesses, hospitals and others to swiftly reestablish operations to ensure they can continue their work even when facing emergencies. The concept gained prominence in Japan following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake.

The central government in 2017 mandated the formulation of BCPs for medical institutions that are designated as disaster center hospitals. Although nursing care providers were also required to establish them in 2021, clinics and other facilities that handle home-based medical care were not included.

Some patients receiving medical care services at home rely on life-sustaining medical equipment such as artificial ventilators. If they cannot secure a power source during a power failure, it could lead to a worst-case scenario.

Indeed, the 2018 Hokkaido earthquake, which hit the prefecture’s eastern Iburi region, caused a widespread power outage, putting the lives of patients using oxygen inhalers at home in danger.

The 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake severed roads, leaving many elderly patients unable to receive home visits for medical care. Such cases could have contributed to disaster-related deaths.

Clinics and other facilities supporting home-based medical care need to formulate BCPs tailored to individual patients’ conditions by using these specific examples as a reference.

It is hoped that they will make a list in advance of patients requiring a priority response during emergencies and confirm procedures for their safety checks, among other steps.

It is also crucial to discuss support systems for patients with other medical institutions nearby in preparation for situations in which continuing home visits becomes difficult.

In the first place, many patients who receive medical care at home cannot visit medical institutions due to illness or advanced age, making it highly likely they will be unable to evacuate independently in times of disaster. Local governments are supposed to identify such people who need this support in ordinary times and establish individual evacuation plans.

It is vital not only for patients and their families but also for people involved in administration, medical treatment and nursing care to share information on a regular basis and establish a community-wide support system.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, March 12, 2026)