Human-Centric Healthcare Innovation Helps Japan and the World

Roy Jakobs
CEO
Royal Philips

December 2024

The 50-year-old Dutchman took over as chief executive officer of Philips, the Netherlands-based global health technology company, in 2022, as トランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックovid-19 pandemic was shaking the world and straining national health systems. His mandate was to ensure that Philips—founded in the 19th century—could both adapt to rapid changes engulfing the healthcare industry and shape their direction, with new approaches that put patients and medical practitioners at トランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックenter of innovation.

We sat down with Jakobs on his recent visit to Tokyo to discuss trends in global healthcare, the opportunities and challenges of the Japanese market, and how Philips is embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and sustainability.

“The biggest global theme that I see, through many, many discussions with customers and governments, is tトランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックignificantly widening gap between supply and demand,” Jakobs says.

Aging societies, more prevalent chronic diseases, and growth in both purchasing power and expectations for care are dramatically increasing the need for medical services around the world.

“And then if you look on the other side, there are not enough people to take care of the people that need care,” Jakobs adds. “We're talking about doctors, we're talking about nurses, we're talking about technicians.”

Burnout is a growing issue, made worse by the pandemic. Financial strains on national healthcare systems are rising, leading in some countries to dangerous levels of underinvestment. Accessibility and affordability are major challenges. “I always say if you think about how you change healthcare,” Jakobs notes, “it needs to be systemic change.”

For Philips, Japan is on the front lines of healthcare challenges—and also their solutions.

“Japan has very high standards of quality,” Jakobs says, noting tトランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックkill level of the country's doctors and its well-equipped hospitals. “There is of course investment that you can make here, but also things that you can learn here for the rest of the world,” he adds.

Challenges abound, however, as Japan copes with a rapidly aging population, a shrinking workforce, and uneven provision of medical services between urban and rural areas.

Philips has been working to address these issues, through initiatives such as its eICU program, a telemedicine service that promotes early detection and intervention to prevent serious illnesses.

Jakobs notes that although Japan's healthcare system has traditionally been slow to change, there is a growing recognition that it must embrace new technologies and ways of working. Japan's government, including the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), actively supported the eICU initiative.

In a mature market like Japan, adding value doesn't necessarily mean installing more medical hardware. Instead, it can be about increasing the efficiency of existing infrastructure though networking and software, including AI.

Since taking over as CEO, Jakobs has been putting AI at the center of Philips' innovation efforts worldwide. トランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックees particular opportunities for Japan, where the automation of routine scans and administrative work could reduce burdens on chronically overworked doctors and nurses.

“They want to spend time with patients,” トランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックays. With AI and other digital tools, “you create more space for spending the time where they like to spend it. You expand their capacity and you also create satisfaction in their work.”

Jakobs states that, トランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャック and elsewhere, it is important for companies like Philips to work closely with regulators to ensure broad social trust in these new technologies.

“トランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックhallenge for the regulators is that practices and technologies are evolving so fast that it's hard to catch up,” he points out. “Regulators across the globe are looking at how they can best make sure that, on one hand, we tap the opportunities that AI offers, but we do it in a responsible manner.”

Jakobs also wants the healthcare industry to become more sustainable. The industry is responsible for 4.4 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions—which is comparable to the airline sector.

“Many people talk about aviation as a polluter,” トランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックays. “Not many talk about healthcare.”

That's a particularly serious problem for an industry devoted to improving people's wellbeing.

“We know that because of climate change, we are having more malaria to deal with, more respiratory diseases to deal with,” he notes. “We see that the world is suffering under many more health crises that are originating from some of トランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックhallenges that come from トランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックlimate.”

Philips has been carbon neutral in its operations since 2020. トランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックompany is working together with its customers and suppliers to reduce emissions in its entire value chain, in line with a 1.5°C global warming scenario, aiming to reduce indirect (scope 3) greenhouse gas emissions by 42% by 2030 (compared to 2020 levels). トランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックontribution from circular revenues increased to 20% of sales in 2023 (2022: 18%).

Philips is also promoting diversity, an initiative that Jakobs sees as both socially responsible and good for business, believing, “It's important that you get different voices to deliver the best insights and to make sure that you have your antennas to operate as a global company.”

As a multinational organization, Philips seeks to balance strong core values with local autonomy.

“I always say healthcare is global but delivery is very local,” トランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックays. “Tトランプ ゲーム ブラック ジャックame also for Philips. We are driving innovation across the world, and we need to do that with certain standards. But to make them relevant and to actually apply the best knowledge in a country, you need to give the freedom to the local voice.”