Conducting research in China and Japan

Taking a project that worked well in the US and forcing it in Japan or China (without adjustments) can lead to a lot of problems and, in the worst-case scenario, an incomplete project and a very unhappy client. Jeffrey Kelsch of Holden Healthcare Interviewed Mrs. Eva Yang (Holden Healthcare) and Mr. Gaku Sasaki (Seed Planning) on conducting research in China and Japan.

Guku Sasaki is based in Japan and has over 25 years’ experience in Healthcare research. Eva Yang is based in China and has 13 years’ experience in market research.

Welcome! And Thank you for joining Eva and Gaku.

Normally we need recruit respondents from different hospitals and cities. Could you please let us know how to set quotas for different hospital types in China and Japan?  Are there any differences?

Eva: Hospitals can be classified into 3 levels—Level 1-3. There are around 2.6 million healthcare professionals working in “level 3” hospitals alone. In the Chinese medical system, most “level 3” hospitals are public hospitals. Most private hospitals are smaller – level 1 or 2 or else small clinics. Patients usually prefer to visit “level 3” hospitals and 85% of patients visit public hospitals. So, we suggest setting an 80% quota in public hospitals in China.

Gaku: Japan is different. Japanese medical facilities are divided into hospitals and clinics. Clinics deal with daily consultation for less severe medical conditions. Large hospitals are for emergency treatment, severe cases and in-patient care. If your research proposal is related to severe ailments or rare diseases, I suggest targeting physicians in hospitals only.

Jeffrey: Very interesting. Sometimes we need to target NPPA/GP/PCPs in our studies. But our local partners have refused such studies claiming a lack of feasibility.  Why is that?

Eva: Your study was probably rejected because we don’t have NPPAs in China. Only licensed physicians and licensed pharmacists have the right to prescribe medication in China. Nurses do not have the expertise or authority to prescribe in China.

Gaku: Yes, same with Japan. You mentioned GP and PCP roles..., actually they are different in Japan. As I mentioned before, we have clinics handling out-patient consultation, physicians in clinics are all broadly called “GP” regardless of their specialization.

Jeffrey: I see. Sometimes we need to target oncologists but we received feedback that it is not possible in Japan. Why? Who Treats cancer in Japan? And what about China?

Gaku: There are less than 1,000 oncologists in Japan. Cancer is traditionally treated by each organ specialist. So, if the study requires us to target oncologists, I suggest we target the organ specialty for each type of cancer. For example, in the case of Lung cancer, it is better to target respiratory internists, respiratory surgeons and pulmonologists with experience treating lung cancer.

Eva: In China we have specialized oncology departments to treat cancer, so we can target oncologists. We may also want to invite the organ specialists as they will also have experience with the relevant cancer.

Jeffrey: This is very different from the US and other western markets. Thank you Gaku and Eva for sharing your knowledge about the Asian healthcare market. I wish we had the time to discuss more.   

Eva: There are many differences. We, at Holden, have recently created brochure listing “15 tips” to doing research in China/Japan. If you are interested in learning more, you can view it on our website.

Jeffrey: Thank you Eva and Gaku.