[Examination of the Application of and Issues with Mobile Testing Equipment in Examples of Utilization in Home Care...

The number of patients requiring testing in the future is expected to increase further with an increase in the number of home care patients that are highly dependent on medical care and in the process of developing health care policies that aim at the creation of regional-based total medical care. The effective use of new technologies to support patients is examined to avoid the fact that fluctuations in patients' health and the limitations of caregivers' capacity make it difficult to continue home care. This study focuses on mobile testing equipment and aims to clarify test applications using this equipment, as well as issues during applications. Interviews were conducted with four physicians that have actual experience in using mobile testing equipment at home care support clinics, and a qualitative analysis was carried out. As a result, seven categories for test applications and five categories for issues were identified. The current state of and new approaches for home care were inferred using evidence from those categories.