A major public hospital in Osaka is preparing to integrate generative artificial intelligence into its daily medical operations, in what could become a reference point for hospitals across Japan.
The Japan Community Healthcare Organization Osaka Hospital (JCHO Osaka Hospital) has signed an agreement with Fujitsu Japan and Fortience Consulting to introduce AI-powered tools designed to support clinical documentation, including discharge summaries and nursing handovers. Microsoft Japan will provide technical expertise for the initiative.
The project, formalised on 13 February 2026, aims to address workforce pressures and improve operational sustainability by embedding generative AI into hospital workflows. Preparatory work will include the development of internal guidelines, governance structures and IT infrastructure to ensure the safe and structured use of the technology.
The system is expected to go live in June 2026. The partners say the experience gained in Osaka could help shape broader AI adoption across public and general hospitals in Japan.
Dr. Ryuji Hamamoto, Representative Director, Japanese Association for Medical Artificial Intelligence comments:
“This is an excellent project that safely implements generative AI for clinical document creation and integrates governance and education. Ensuring safety, reducing the burden on those working in the field, and improving quality is extremely important. I look forward to this project’s nationwide expansion.”
Background
Currently, medical institutions face urgent challenges in balancing improved medical quality with work style reform and ensuring sound financial management. The adoption of technologies such as AI is therefore imperative. However, disparities in IT literacy among staff and a shortage of digital talent often lead to AI being used only partially, posing challenges for its sustained adoption.
Since November 2024, JCHO Osaka Hospital, with support from Microsoft Japan and Fortience Consulting, has been implementing generative AI for non-clinical tasks, such as creating meeting minutes and building a chatbot system for staff using Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG).
Having achieved good results in these areas, the hospital has now expanded its collaboration to apply generative AI to clinical domains.
Project overview in brief
JCHO Osaka Hospital will begin using generative AI to help draft around 16,000 discharge summaries per year and to support nursing handovers by summarising key patient information.
The aim is to reduce administrative workload, improve efficiency and maintain quality of care. Over time, the partners plan to expand the system to other hospitals within the Japan Community Healthcare Organization, using electronic medical record data while safeguarding patient privacy.
To ensure safe use, the hospital will introduce clear internal rules on how data and AI-generated content are handled, with a focus on security, compliance and ethical standards.
A multidisciplinary team of “DX Ambassadors” — including doctors, nurses and administrative staff — will oversee implementation, identify practical use cases and support adoption in daily clinical work.
Fortience Consulting will help develop overall AI policies and usage guidelines, as well as training programmes to strengthen digital skills across the organisation and support the long-term integration of generative AI in hospital operations.
Photo: Hiroya Kuwahara, Head of Healthcare Business at Fujitsu Japan, Toshirou Nishida, Director of JCHO Osaka Hospital, Norihiro Shimizu, Head of Healthcare at Microsoft Japan, and Takuya Shigenobu, Social Value Creation Division Division Head Senior Managing Director at Fortience Consulting, at the signing ceremony for this project on February 13, 2026. Source: Fujitsu
23.02.2026.
