Transforming healthcare through the power of communication.

This series follows Dentsu Inc. 'Company Design' team as they uncover the secrets behind vibrant companies with 'originality.' The seventh installment features MICIN, a startup leveraging AI and IT technologies to transform healthcare settings.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as healthcare facilities face strain, one startup is gaining attention: the health tech company MICIN. When we think of technology in healthcare, we often assume it refers to medical technology itself. However, the technology this company seeks to enhance is not that. It aims to save lives in healthcare settings, and ultimately patients, by leveraging cutting-edge information technologies like AI and IT – essentially, the power of communication.

It's not immediately clear. How can cutting-edge medical technology, often associated with the hard sciences, fuse with communication technology, which carries an image closer to the humanities? How should they fuse? We want to explore that question.

MICIN Inc.
Founded November 2015. With the vision "A world where everyone can live and pass away with peace of mind," the company operates application services including the online consultation service "Kron" and the online medication guidance service "Kron Medication Support." It also provides digital solutions for pharmaceutical clinical development and digital therapeutics to support medical practice and patient life.

Our interviewee is MICIN CEO Seigo Hara. After graduating from the University of Tokyo's Faculty of Medicine, he worked as a physician at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine. Drawing on that experience, he then joined the Japan Health Policy Institute, aiming to transform healthcare systems rather than remain a clinician. He later earned an MBA from Stanford University and joined McKinsey & Company. After four years as a healthcare consultant, he founded MICIN—a rather unconventional career path in the medical industry.

First, the connection between an MBA and healthcare isn't immediately obvious. When we think of healthcare, images of cutting-edge science and technology come to mind, along with charitable acts symbolized by "angels in white coats." However, looking at recent news reports, it's clear that's not the whole picture. Issues like marketing, communication, management, and talent development—things that plague general businesses—are undoubtedly present in healthcare settings too. We wanted to ask President Hara about these aspects.

Written by: Dentsu Inc. CDC Toshiya Araki
 

 

The Theme: A "Satisfactory" End

"Our company's vision is to create a world where everyone can live and meet their end with peace of mind," Mr. Hara stated at the outset. The vision for healthcare has traditionally been about extending human life. That seemed to be the singular, ultimate goal we all firmly believed in. This applies to battlefield medicine and to patients forced into long-term hospitalization. But then Mr. Hara introduced the word "satisfaction." I couldn't help imagining the scene often seen in dramas: the protagonist on their deathbed, tears in their eyes, saying, "Ah, it was a good life," and passing away.

MICIN CEO Seigo Hara

Mr. Hara continued, "To meet the end with satisfaction, you need satisfying data." Data? That was the first surprise. Thinking about it, it's true. What do people use to grasp things and feel "satisfied"? It's data. In the medical world, "data" might make you think of charts written in German or incomprehensible numbers, but the data Mr. Hara was talking about seemed to be something else entirely.

Healthcare Revealed Through Digitalization

"Data isn't being utilized effectively in the medical field. I thought that was the biggest problem," says Mr. Hara. When we think of the medical field, we imagine the ultimate offline world, the epitome of the real. Yet Mr. Hara states, "Going online reveals a desirable future." He adds, "COVID-19 accelerated this movement." Indeed, data like daily infection numbers comes in constantly. But we don't know what specific actions to take.

Mr. Hara explains. Regardless of COVID, knowledge and diagnostic techniques are advancing rapidly. Yet, this data isn't being shared effectively. Figuring out how to solve this was the impetus for starting the company. I believe many people are beginning to recognize the potential of online solutions. They realize, "Ah, this type of work can be done perfectly well online. In fact, it's more efficient than offline." I was amazed by Mr. Hara's vision, having pioneered this approach in the medical field.

MICIN's online medical service, "Kron." Patients can use smartphones, PCs, or tablets to search for medical institutions, make appointments, complete questionnaires, receive consultations, and even make payments—all online.

Online consultations: What qualities are required of doctors?

"Online consultations are merely a means, not the goal," says Dr. Hara. He means that digitization isn't the objective itself, but rather one part of a long-term effort toward ideal healthcare. What's crucial, he explains, is the mindset toward "prevention." COVID-19 has reminded us of the importance of prevention. According to Mr. Hara, moving beyond the traditional mindset of "living a healthier life," it is paramount to "design one's life based on personal values." This requires not just "prevention," but an attitude that engages with each individual's values and outlook on life.

If someone values drinking above all else, they should design their life around that value. The doctor supports that value. However, they must not cause regret. To put it very simply, it's about preventing thoughts like, "I wish I hadn't drunk so much." To prevent such regret, appropriate data is presented. "Providing that convincing data is also part of our job, I believe."

After graduating from university, Dr. Hara worked as a physician in clinical settings, where he witnessed patients' regret, thinking, "This wasn't supposed to happen." His desire to eliminate such final regrets in life led to the founding of the company and its vision.

The Decision to Leave Clinical Medicine

Dr. Hara admits it would be untrue to say he had no resistance to letting go of his career as a doctor, a clinician. There was opposition from those around him too. Though not possessing "divine hands," he found fulfillment in treating patients using the skills he had cultivated. However, through various experiences, he arrived at the thought: "Couldn't we apply a different approach to the very structure of the medical field itself?" His desire to commit to the medical field remained unchanged. Thinking this way, he realized that holding a stethoscope or scalpel, or publishing papers, shouldn't be the only means to achieve his purpose. Hara expressed this thought: "I wanted to talk about the field with a clear outline."

The word "outline" was striking. As the proverb "can't see the forest for the trees" suggests, we often get bogged down in the details. I imagine the medical field, in particular, tends to be bound by convention. Mr. Hara brought online technology into that world. By the standards of the medical industry up to that point, it was a decision akin to stepping back from the front lines to work behind the scenes. But that's precisely why it was worth the challenge. "There are so many things that are hard to say offline, right?" Mr. Hara's point made me think, "That's true."

The company name MICIN pays homage to "Mycin," a medical artificial intelligence system developed at Stanford University in the 1970s. Mycin, an algorithm designed to diagnose infectious diseases and recommend antibiotics, was said to achieve higher diagnostic accuracy than general practitioners, though it still fell short of specialists.

Making it viable as a business. Solving the problem starts there, I think.

"I started the company driven by a vague sense of purpose," Hara states. He questions whether the future of healthcare will be shaped by systems, policies, or projects. To evolve these, he continues, "it's crucial to create mechanisms that gather frontline voices and make them viable as a business." His experience at a consulting firm taught him to build logical frameworks, organize information, and incorporate societal feedback into business strategies.

Hara aims to bring this know-how into the healthcare world. At the end of the interview, I asked, "What would be the ideal relationship between healthcare and business?" His answer was simple: "Isn't it about placing as little burden as possible on the medical institutions that treat people? I believe that is what designing health for society as a whole means."

Visit MICIN's homepagehere.

Season 2 of the series where Dentsu Inc.'s 'Company Design' team explores the secrets of 'vibrant companies' with 'originality.' Episode 7 introduced MICIN, which supports healthcare settings through the power of communication.

Season 1 of the series can be foundhere.
The "Company Design" project site ishere.

[Editor's Note]

Healthcare has long been a subject depicted in numerous dramas. As a genre, it's probably as major as detective dramas. Naturally. It's a field that shapes people's entire lives. Drama is bound to emerge there. Yet, we tend to forget what truly underpins that drama. And above all, that this drama isn't science fiction or anything fantastical—it's real life.

"If it doesn't work as a business, healthcare cannot function," says Mr. Hara. At first glance, this might sound cold, but it stems from deep affection. He wants to create a system where everyone involved – medical professionals, patients, and families – can be happier.

Mr. Hara introduced information technologies like AI and IT into this space. I believe this is groundbreaking. Medical technology involves refining manufacturing techniques, akin to what general companies do, and providing services. Information technology, on the other hand, corresponds to marketing and creative expression. Only when these two mesh effectively do things truly run smoothly. It brings us one step closer to a more prosperous society. Within the somewhat daunting theme of healthcare, we saw hints of the future we should strive for.