Mamoru Ichikawa 1)2)3)
1) Associate Professor, Department of Media and Society, Faculty of Sociology, Musashi University
2) Visiting Associate Professor, School of Medicine, Hiroshima University
3) Representative Director, Association of Medical Journalism Japan
Modern society faces an “infodemic” characterized by the rapid spread of both accurate information and misinformation. A structural divide between medical caution and media news values contributes to patient distrust and hinders shared decision-making. This paper redefines medical communication as a strategic “translation,” aimed at facilitating informed action rather than mere simplification. We discuss strategies that account for cognitive biases, such as the “backfire effect” and “danger-priming effect,” and explore the emerging role of generative artificial intelligence in this field.
Kiyotaka Watanabe 1)
1)Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Teikyo University
As cancer care becomes increasingly complex, comprehensive management across surgery, systemic therapy, radiation, supportive and palliative care, and survivorship care is required.
Multidisciplinary collaboration among healthcare professionals is essential,
and patient-centered decision-making must be supported through communication that reflects patients’ values and life contexts.
This report highlights key challenges in communication, including inequitable access to reliable information, the impact of information gaps on quality of life,
and the limitations of one-way information delivery in busy clinical settings. To address these issues, emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) are being explored.
Communication-based AI tools can support personalized information provision, especially outside clinical settings;
however, concerns remain regarding accuracy, bias, transparency, and digital inequality.
AI should therefore function as a mediator, supporting rather than replacing professional management or judgment.
Most participants in educational programs involving healthcare professionals reported improved understanding of multidisciplinary collaboration and patient-centered care.
Additionally, AI-based consultation tools showed potential to enhance efficiency and interprofessional communication.
Integrating structured risk communication, high-quality information dissemination, and appropriate use of AI is essential to advance patient-centered decision-making
and improve the quality of cancer care.
Hiroshi Okada 1)
1)Department of Preventive Services, Kyoto University School of Public Health
In aging societies, increasing numbers of people live with chronic conditions and require long-term support.
Communication among healthcare professionals is essential to this type of care and is a key element of community-based integrated care.
This paper is based on a symposium presentation on the role of community pharmacies in interprofessional collaboration and communication with the media.
Community pharmacists work at the interface between healthcare services and patients’ everyday lives, allowing them to identify psychosocial
and contextual issues that may not be evident in clinical settings.
Through patient-centered support, they can promote continuity of care, early identification of health problems, and stronger interprofessional collaboration.
The paper also presents findings from the COMPASS project, a clinical study conducted in community pharmacies, showing that pharmacist-led interventions improved clinical outcomes,
including HbA1c and blood pressure.
These findings suggest that strengthening pharmacists’ communication skills and enhancing interprofessional collaboration may support a more sustainable and patient-centered healthcare system.
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