Seeking to Better Understand the Needs of People with Visual Impairments Passing Important Values from People to People Achieving a Step - free Path Corporate Social Responsibility Improving Efficiency of Work Associated with Long - Term Care Insurance Designed with the LTCI Program Reforms in Mind Barrier - free 30th Anniversary The First Step Towards a More Considerate Approach

Designed with the LTCI Program Reforms in Mind

In addition to its rapid response, another salient feature of Care Time is how it handles administrative tasks associated with LTCI services and how it administers assistance payment services for the disabled, together in one software system. Many large - scale care providers have to carry out insurance and support - payment tasks in parallel, and the ability to switch between them without operators’ having to log in again is a major advantage. Care Time also includes many usability enhancements throughout, such as menu screens that display a wide variety of functions all in one place and smooth screen - to - screen transitions that follow the flow of work. “The people who use Care Time are the helpers and care managers who actually look after old people,” says Shuzo Iwashita, general manager, Public Fields Sales Department, Telecommunication Sales and Marketing Unit at Sumitomo Electric. “Their jobs are very tough, so we are continually working to improve Care Time so it can help reduce the amount of work of care workers and allow them to spend more time on their real job of caring and planning. In this way, I think the system even helps the elderly people who are the recipients of long - term care services.”

Kazuki Ousaka (left) and general manager Shuzo Iwashita (right) of the Public Fields Sales Dept., Telecommunications Sales and Marketing Unit; and Takanori Kaneko (middle) of the Telecommunications Solutions Business Unit

“We interviewed care managers and helpers to find out what they needed from our system in their work,” explains Takanori Kaneko, Public Fields Sales Department, Telecommunications Solution Business Unit at Sumitomo Electric. “It took us about a year to develop the system, and since its launch, we’ve received many requests for improvements. We worked hard to upgrade the system to improve its usability.” Sumitomo Electric is a latecomer to the market of care providers systems, but the launch of Care Time has helped it to gain market share, particularly among wide area network - based systems. “Next year’s revisions to the LTCI program will see the start of a number of new types of organization, including care - and - prevention programs and regional comprehensive support centers,” says Kazuki Ousaka, Public Fields Sales Department. “Because we designed our product to be flexible and adaptable for system reforms, customers already using it will only have to upgrade their software.” Going forward, Sumitomo Electric is not only widening its sales channels, but also expanding its business into related systems, such as fleet planning for wheelchair - accessible vehicles and remote video care consultation systems. The company hopes to further contribute to work - efficiency in the LTCI services industry as well as contribute to the development of care services that are even more elderly - friendly.