[Scientific support for emerging countries--introduction to activities of a company]

Medical care cost per capita in developing countries is significantly low, only 1/100 of that of developed countries. In these countries, treatment comes first, without sufficient clinical testing. In emerging countries, on the other hand, economic growth increases medical care cost, enabling more clinical testing; however, in many cases, quality control is not sufficiently performed for economic and technical reasons. To promote evidence-based medical care, it is important to promote high-quality clinical testing in these countries. To do so, our company has provided 400 scientific documents in 17 languages. We have also held 49 scientific seminars in 10 countries, with more than 10,000 participants, to share the latest medical information. We especially focus on supporting the standardization and promotion of external quality control to improve the quality of clinical testing. To support the standardization of hematology testing in China, we set up an environment for the international standard method of blood cell counting, in 2002 for the organizer of an external quality assessment program, and in 2011 for an agency responsible for practical tests of medical equipments. We have also been supporting national external quality assessment programs since 1998, first in Thailand and now including the Philippines and Mongolia. For external quality assessment programs in these countries, we applied the approach shown by Japanese doctors and medical technologists in their effort for accuracy improvement. We believe the experience and knowledge of Japan can be utilized to support developing and emerging countries.