July 5, 2022
CMIC HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.
CMIC To Lead the Standardization of PHR Services:
CMIC Holdings will participate in the establishment of the “PHR Service Business Association” as a founding member and secretary of the PHR standardization subcommittee
CMIC Holdings Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & CEO: Kazuo Nakamura) announced that, along with fifteen service companies1 involved in the personal health record (PHR)2 business, it will participate in the “PHR Service Business Association” (working name), serving as secretary of Subcommittee 2, which will focus on (or work on) PHR standardization.
Since 2005, CMIC has led several initiatives to improve personal life satisfaction, with the aim of becoming a “personal health value creator.” In 2019, the company took over the business operations of harmo, a harmo electronic prescription records, and is developing a full-fledged PHR business as a communication channel platform that can separately store personal information and collected data. Thanks to its scalability, in addition to clinical trials, harmo has been used in applications such as “harmo Vaccine Care,” a safety confirmation service for COVID-19 vaccinations used by approximately one million people in more than 20 Japanese municipalities. CMIC’s participation as a founding member of this association and Subcommittee 2 Secretary is a result of its extensive knowledge and experience with PHRs through the harmo business, in addition to the strong relationships it has cultivated over the years in the pharmaceutical and medical worlds.
Subcommittee 2 will address issues related to the standardization and portability of information handled by PHR services to further promote and improve their convenience and to ensure they can be used with confidence. Specifically, the subcommittee and member companies will discuss and investigate the standardization of reliability standards and data formats for data reception, storage, management, viewing, and exporting, assuming usage scenarios for both medical professionals and patients. Through these efforts, they will aim to create an environment in which PHRs can be used with confidence, ultimately contributing to improved health and life fulfillment in Japan.
CMIC Holdings Chair and CEO Kazuo Nakamura describes this initiative as follows: “It goes without saying that PHRs are an important tool that allows individuals to lead a life with a sense of fulfillment. Promoting the widespread use of PHRs will require cooperation among businesses as well as the establishment of industry standards that facilitate the maximal utilization of data. As Subcommittee 2 secretary, CMIC is committed to leading and facilitating discussion among member companies and developing PHR standards, always keeping in mind where standardization is required and what will make PHRs easy to use for health care professionals and their patients.”
CMIC will continue actively coorperate with the member companies of “PHR Service Business Association” and to play a key role in the continued promotion of PHR use.
1Participating companies (in alphabetical order): CMIC Holdings Inc., Eisai Co., FiNC Technologies Inc., Fujitsu Ltd., KDDI Corp., MICIN Corp., MTI Corp., Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., OMRON Corp., SOMPO Holdings Inc., Shionogi & Co., Sumitomo Life Insurance Co., TIS Corp., Terumo Corp., Welby Corp.
2Personal health records: The statement establishing the organization describes this as life-long personal health and medical information, including medical examination and screening information, immunization history, drug information, laboratory test results, and other medical-related information, as well as vital data measured by the individual on a daily basis.
About harmo
harmo develops and provides the “harmo electronic prescription records” and “harmo Vaccine Care” apps, which allow individuals and families to utilize their personal medical and health information. Amidst increasing awareness of the need for vaccination information management to prevent vaccination errors, “harmo Vaccine Care” not only easily records and manages vaccination information but also prevents vaccination errors and provides long-term individualized follow-up services. harmo Vaccine Care is currently installed at all 32 internal medicine and pediatric departments providing pediatric vaccinations in the Kawasaki ward of Kawasaki City, where it has established a proven track record of preventing many vaccination errors. As of May 2022, the “harmo electronic prescription records” has approximately 400,000 users, including smartphone applications and dedicated IC cards, and has been used at more than 16,000 pharmacies nationwide.
About CMIC Group
CMIC Group was founded in 1992 as the first Contract Research Organization (CRO) in Japan. Today CMIC Group is the largest clinical CRO in Japan with a global footprint, providing comprehensive services in drug development, clinical site management, manufacturing, regulatory consulting and contract sales & marketing solutions. We can help pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device companies to enter the Japanese market, to conduct clinical trials in Asia, or to bridge drug development and manufacturing needs in the US, Europe, Japan and broader Asia. CMIC Group has over 7,000 employees and 24 sites globally. For more information about CMIC Group and services, please visit our website.
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