Health and Global Institute (HGPI)’s 8th semester of Health Policy Academy (HPA) was held from April 2019 to September 2019. Twenty-nine people participated.

HPA has been provided since 2015 to teach the basic essentials of health policy to those interested in the field. Themes covered in this semester were selected according to the needs of today’s health policy environment. Participants from diverse backgrounds learned about and discussed those themes at six lectures and five student-centered study sessions. Participants did not only include doctors, pharmacists, nurses, and other people working in the field of healthcare, they also came from private and public organizations and organizations representing people receiving healthcare or civil society. To date, more than 230 people have participated in the eight HPA sessions.

The 8 semester featured discussions on topics at the forefront of each theme led by guest speakers Dr. Naoki Ikegami (Specially-appointed Professor, Graduate School of Public Health, Center for Clinical Sciences, St. Luke’s International University), Mr. Hayato Kume (Assistant Director, Personnel Division, Minister’s Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare), Mr. Yujiro Tsutsumi (Managing Executive Officer and Partner, PwC Consulting LLC), and Ms. Yumi Shindo (Research Coordinator, Planning and Strategy Bureau, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology). At the study sessions, participants were able to engage in two-way active learning using their diverse backgrounds.

■Program (Lectures and study sessions)

• Lecture 1: Introduction (Wednesday, April 17, 2019)
  • Kohei Onozaki (Board Member, HGPI)

• May study session: The History of Health Policy in Japan and Current Issues (Wednesday, May 8, 2019)
• Lecture 2: Trends in Health Policy (Wednesday, May 15, 2019)
  • Naoki Ikegami (Specially-appointed Professor, Graduate School of Public Health, Center for Clinical Sciences, St. Luke’s International University)

• June study session: Medical Service Fees (Wednesday, June 5, 2019)
• Lecture 3: Examining the Policy Creation Process from the Perspective of Healthcare Policy (Wednesday, June 19, 2019)
  • Hayato Kume (Assistant Director, Personnel Division, Minister’s Secretariat, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)

• July study session: Drugs and Medical Supplies (Wednesday, July 3, 2019)
• Lecture 4: Challenges and Prospects for Drugs (Wednesday, July 17, 2019)
  • Yujiro Tsutsumi (Managing Executive Officer and Partner, PwC Consulting LLC)

• August study session: Long-term Care Insurance and End-of-life Healthcare (Wednesday, August 7, 2019)
• Lecture 5: Cooperation in Medical and Long-Term Care and Integrated Community Care Systems Based on Experiences in the U.S. (Wednesday, August 21, 2019)
  • Yumi Shindo (Research Coordinator, Planning and Strategy Bureau, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology)

• September study session: Individual Views on the Future of Healthcare Policy Presentation Session (Wednesday, September 4, 2019)
• Lecture 6: Predicting the Future in Healthcare (Wednesday, September 18, 2019)
  • Kohei Onozaki (Board Member, HGPI)