Kampo medicine lectures at Tokai University School of Medicine are an elective subject this year. In order to evaluate student acceptance of this elective, we performed a questionnaire investigation prior to lectures for all fourth-year medical students (n=96). Among the 76 students who provided effective answers, 47 considered attending the Kampo medicine lectures, and 35 of these did attend them. Ten could not attend though they had wanted to. Three could not attend because applicant numbers surpassed class quotas, and 6 reported that other elective subjects were of greater interest to them. Regarding a new model core curriculum for medical education, 6 students (8%) knew that questions about Kampo medicine might be included in a medical state examination, and only 3 (4%) knew that Kampo medicine was included as a specific behavioral objective (SBO). Regarding attitudes toward Kampo medicine, 64 students (84%) were interested in it, while 47 (57%) had a good image of it. However, about two-thirds of students had skeptical or negative images of Kampo medicine citing phrases such as “lack of evidence, ” “mysterious, ” “unscientific, ” “difficult to understand, ” “doubtful” and “works slowly.” These findings suggest that a minimal knowledge of Kampo medicine should be taught to all medical students as a required subject. Furthermore, establishment of advanced programs should be considered as well, since medical students have great interest in, and expectations of Kampo medicine.

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the relationship between the number of board-certified physiatrists and the amount of inpatient rehabilitation delivered.Materials and Methods: We analyzed open data from 2017 in the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups of Japan and compared the volume of inpatient rehabilitation services between prefectures to examine regional disparities. We also examined the relationship between the volume of rehabilitation services provided and the number of board-certified physiatrists.Results: The population-adjusted number of inpatient rehabilitation units per prefecture ranged from a maximum of 659,951 to a minimum of 172,097, a disparity of 3.8-fold. The population-adjusted number of board-certified physiatrists was 4.8 in the highest region and 0.8 in the lowest region, a disparity of 5.8-fold. The population-adjusted number of board-certified physiatrists was significantly correlated with the population-adjusted total number of inpatient rehabilitation units (r=0.600, P<0.001). Correlations were between the number of board-certified physiatrists and the number of rehabilitation units in cerebrovascular and orthopedic services, but not in cardiovascular, respiratory, or oncology services.Conclusion: Large regional disparities manifested in the amount of inpatient rehabilitation provided in Japan. An association was found between the number of board-certified physiatrists and rehabilitation units delivered. It may be necessary to train more BCPs in regions with fewer units to eliminate these disparities.