The Medical DX roadmap does not cover only what happens inside medical institutions. Its purpose is to connect information across health, medical care, and long-term care, and mechanisms exist for the care sector as well. From April 2026, operation of the "care information infrastructure" began, moving digitization in long-term care into a new stage. This article organizes the three mechanisms that make up Long-Term Care DX and what they mean for clinics engaged in home care and primary care.
Disclaimer: This article is general information. Start dates, participating municipalities, and treatment under care fees may change. In practice, always confirm the latest primary sources (MHLW, the National Health Insurance Organizations' Federation, and your municipality's published materials).
For the overall map of Medical DX, see What Is Medical DX? The Government Roadmap and Its Three Pillars.
The Three Mechanisms
Digitization in long-term care proceeds through three mechanisms with different purposes. Their similar names invite confusion, but their roles are clearly separated.
| Mechanism | Purpose | Main users |
|---|---|---|
| Care information infrastructure | Share care information among stakeholders and with medical care | Municipalities, care providers, medical institutions, the individual |
| Care plan data linkage system | Exchange care plans electronically | Care managers, service providers |
| LIFE (Long-term care Information system For Evidence) | Collect and analyze care data and feed results back | Care providers |
Broadly: the care information infrastructure "connects," care plan data linkage "exchanges," and LIFE "analyzes."
The Care Information Infrastructure (from April 2026)
This is a foundation for sharing information about long-term care insurance beneficiaries among municipalities, care providers, medical institutions, and the individual. It is the long-term care portion of the National Medical Information Platform (pillar ① of Medical DX).
What Is Shared
Information long conveyed on paper or through ad hoc exchanges—care-need certification, care plans, and benefit information—falls within scope. Individuals can check their own care information via Mynaportal (a My Number Card is required).
A Staged Start
It does not begin nationwide at once. Operation starts sequentially from municipalities that are ready, with the aim of operation in all municipalities by April 2028. As with PMH and Vaccine DX on the medical side, note that start dates differ by area.
The Care Plan Data Linkage System
A mechanism for exchanging care plans prepared by care managers with service providers electronically. Because exchanges previously went by fax or postal mail, transcription effort and errors arose.
Integration with the care information infrastructure is under way, heading toward a form in which care plan information is shared with stakeholders through the infrastructure.
LIFE
LIFE is a mechanism through which care providers register users' conditions and the care provided as data and receive analytical feedback. It is also built into the requirements for LIFE-related additions.
Transfer of the Operating Body
In 2026, operation of LIFE was transferred from MHLW to the National Health Insurance Organizations' Federation. This reorganization accompanied the launch of the care information infrastructure, and the new system has been running since May 11, 2026.
The transition raised several practical points:
- To continue billing LIFE-related additions, migration had to be completed within the transition window (May 11 to July 31, 2026)
- Account IDs, passwords, and provider information carry over, but user information and past form data do not
- If you use the care plan data linkage system and access the new LIFE from the same terminal, obtaining an electronic certificate is unnecessary
Clinics with an attached care business, or corporations operating care services, should confirm this migration is complete.
Impact on Clinics
Long-Term Care DX centers on measures for care providers, but it touches the medical side too.
Clinics Providing Home Care
If you conduct home visits as a home care support clinic, sharing information with care managers, visiting nurses, and care providers is daily work. As the care information infrastructure spreads, care-need levels and care plan content become easier to check, improving the basis for multidisciplinary collaboration. Information previously obtainable only by phone, fax, or at service coordination meetings moves toward being checkable through the infrastructure.
Involvement as a Primary Care Physician
Primary care physicians touch the long-term care system often—preparing attending physician opinion statements, advising on insurance applications, and treating facility residents. As individuals and families gain access to their own care information, the quality of information patients present is likely to change.
Why Connecting Medical and Care Data Matters
The original aim of Medical DX is linkage across health, medical care, and long-term care. With the EMR Information Sharing Service on the medical side and the care information infrastructure on the care side, connecting the two is expected to reduce the information discontinuity at admission, discharge, and transition to home care.
What Clinics Can Do Now
1. Check Attached or Affiliated Care Providers
If your corporation operates care businesses, confirm LIFE migration, use of the care plan data linkage system, and readiness for the care information infrastructure. Some items tie directly to billing additions, so priority is high.
2. Understand Your Partners' Status
If you provide home care, knowing how far your partner care management offices and visiting nurse stations have digitized makes it easier to decide when to switch how you share information.
3. Confirm Your Municipality's Start Date
Start dates differ by municipality. Check published readiness for the municipalities in your catchment area.
With AI Karte
The AI-native EMR "AI Karte" supports home-visit scheduling and recording in mobile environments, assisting clinics that provide home care. We are also examining our approach to medical–care data linkage in light of implementation progress on the regulatory side. We welcome consultations on adoption tailored to your home care workflow.
Conclusion
Long-Term Care DX comprises three mechanisms with distinct roles: the care information infrastructure, the care plan data linkage system, and LIFE. In 2026, the infrastructure's launch and LIFE's transfer of operating body coincided, making it a turning-point year for the sector. For clinics, it affects multidisciplinary collaboration in home care and points of contact with the care system as a primary care physician. Practically, confirm LIFE migration status if you have an attached care business, and confirm your partners' and municipality's readiness if you provide home care.
Through providing AI Karte, Pottech aims to be the ideal business partner for clinics—improving the working environment for physicians, nurses, and medical clerical staff, and supporting clinics in fully realizing what they want to achieve.
For more details, please feel free to contact us.