June 28th, 22
Social Survey Research Information Co., Ltd.
Social Survey Research Information Co., Ltd.
NEWS
PatientsMap 2022 Japan Survey Begins.
Half of the physicians have treated suspected COVID-19 patients.
Large-scale hospitals that have an emergency room, respiratory department, etc. primarily treat these patients and HP Pediatrics also treat suspected young adult patients.
Half of the physicians recommend switching to Class 5 infectious diseases
Social Survey Research Information Co., Ltd. and M3, Inc. launched the Japanese edition of PatientsMap 2022 based on physician surveys on May 10, 2022. PatientsMap is a large-scale database that annually enlists the cooperation of more than 20,000 physicians and examines physician coverages and patient numbers for approximately 400 diseases, unmet medical needs (hope for new drugs), and the activities of real (in-person) MRs and e-detailing activities of pharmaceutical companies.
This time, we analyzed the results of responses from early May to early June 2022 regarding how COVID-19 is being treated and physicians' thoughts on switching to insurance care, which are being surveyed in the Japanese version of PatientsMap 2022. (Analysis was conducted on 10,069 samples collected during the Japanese version of PatientsMap 2022.)
A multiple-response survey was conducted on how physicians treat COVID-19 (Figure 1). The highest percentage selected "Responded to suspected patients in the outpatient fever department" (52.3%), indicating that about half of the physicians had responded to patients suspected of having COVID-19. In addition, 45.3% and 40.9% of the physicians had responded to vaccinations and PCR tests, respectively.
Furthermore, a comparative analysis of how COVID-19 is being treated on a hospital scale, i.e., HP or GP (Fig. 2), revealed that physicians working at HP facilities were highly likely to select "Responded to suspected patients in the outpatient fever department," "Accepted and treated COVID-19 patients," and "Performed PCR tests." In particular, "Accepted and treated COVID-19 patients" was selected almost exclusively by HP physicians. On the other hand, the number of GPs slightly exceeded that of HPs for "Administered COVID-19 vaccinations," indicating that treatment was mainly provided at large hospitals and vaccinations were given by GPs.
Furthermore, an analysis was conducted on the top 10 departments at HP facilities that selected "Accepted and treated COVID-19 patients" (Table 1). In HP facilities, 79.7% (the highest) of the ER/ICU physicians have treated COVID-19 patients, which was followed by respiratory physicians at 70.4%. In addition, pediatrics/pediatric surgery was ranked around the top in this survey, with 60.3% of these physicians having treated COVID-19 patients, indicating that pediatric physicians treated the infection among children, which at one time was a problem in schools and early childhood facilities.
When asked to use a 5-point scale to rate their opinion on switching COVID-19 from the currently designated infectious disease to a Class 5 infectious disease similar to the flu, 48.0% of the responding physicians recommended the switch (Figure 3).
This tends to vary by department, with pediatrics (60.0%), ENT (57.1%), and rheumatology (56.7%) being the top departments that recommend switching (Table 2).
As mentioned above, 60% of pediatricians have accepted and treated COVID-19 patients, and a high percentage of them recommends switching to a Class 5 infectious disease, which is a controversial result.
(Figure 1) Physicians' responses to COVID-19 infection (TOTAL: n=10,069)
(Figure 2) Physicians’ responses to COVID-19 infections by hospital scale (HP/GP)
(Table 1) Percentage of physicians who have "Accepted and treated COVID-19 patients" by HP department
*Departments with a small sample size were not analyzed.
| Rank | Department | (n) | Accepted and treated COVID-19 patients |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emergency/ICU | (n=172) | 79.7% |
| 2 | Respiratory medicine | (n=257) | 70.4% |
| 3 | Pediatrics/Pediatric surgery | (n=522) | 60.3% |
| 4 | Nephrology/Dialysis | (n=136) | 58.8% |
| 5 | Anesthesiology | (n=351) | 52.4% |
| 6 | Hematology | (n=108) | 51.9% |
| 7 | Ob/gyn | (n=226) | 51.3% |
| 8 | Diabetes/Endocrinology | (n=226) | 50.4% |
| 9 | GI surgery | (n=329) | 48.9% |
| 10 | Gastroenterology | (n=414) | 48.8% |
(Figure 3) Thinking on switching COVID-19 to a Class 5 infectious disease (covered by insurance)
(Table 2) Percentage of physicians who "Recommend switching COVID-19 to a Class 5 infectious disease (Top 2)" by HP department
*Departments with a small sample size were not analyzed.
| Rank | Department | (n) | Recommendation to switch to Class 5 (Top 2) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pediatrics/Pediatric surgery | (n=522) | 60.0% |
| 2 | ENT | (n=177) | 57.1% |
| 3 | Rheumatology | (n=90) | 56.7% |
| 4 | Ob/gyn | (n=226) | 55.8% |
| 5 | GI surgery | (n=329) | 55.3% |
Overview of PatientsMap 2022 Japan Version (2022JP)
A survey was conducted of m3 panel physicians.
Target respondents: M3-registered physicians
Method: Online survey
Fieldwork period: Fieldwork started on May 10, 2022
Sample size collected: 20,000 + @ sample
Number of conditions surveyed: 437 diseases
Survey topic: Total number of patients (in the past month)
Number of patients seen by condition (in the past month)
Number of patients who were prescribed drugs by condition (in the past month)
Diseases for which new drugs are desired
Percentage of patients to whom respondents would consider using a new drug by disease
Reasons why new drugs are desired by condition (Open-ended/Up to 5 diseases per respondent)
Manufacturers whose sales reps visited respondents (in the past month)
Manufacturers whose sale reps had an online meeting with respondents (in the past month)
Manufacturers from which respondents received information via the Internet (including web lecturers) (in the past month)
Trusted manufacturers
In Japan, this service will be jointly provided by Social Survey Research Information Co., Ltd. and M3, Inc.
■ Contact Information
Social Survey Research Information Co., Ltd.
E-mail: patientsmap@ssri.com
■ Social Survey Research Information Co., Ltd.
Established: April 1982
Capital: 27 million JPY
President & CEO: Takashi Makita
Number of employees: 137
Location: Head Office
NMF Shinjuku East Bldg. 2F, 3F
10-5 Tomihisacho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0067 JAPAN
Osaka office:
Daimei Bldg. 4F, 4-6-3 Hirano-cho, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0046
Affiliate companies: PD Research Co., Ltd.
MDB Co.
SSRI China Co., Ltd. (overseas subsidiary)
SSRI Asia Pacific Co., Ltd. (overseas subsidiary)
HIMA Research (overseas affiliate)
URL: http://www.ssri.com/
■ M3, Inc.
Established: September 2000
Capital: 29.036 billion JPY (as of March 31, 2021)
Representative Director: Itaru Tanimura
Number of employees, consolidated: 8,249 (as of March 31, 2021)
Location: Akasaka Intercity 10F 1-11-44 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo
URL: https://corporate.m3.com/