There have been a series of troubles over My Number cards. An organization made up of doctors and others investigated the Myna Health Insurance Card, a health insurance card integrated with the My Number Card, and found that at least 85 cases were confirmed in the medical field that were linked to other people's information.

The National Federation of Health Insurance Physicians' Associations, an organization made up of doctors and dentists, has been conducting a survey on "Myna Health Insurance Cards" since last month through health insurance physicians' associations nationwide, and has so far received responses from 35,7208 medical institutions in 25 prefectures.

As a result, at least 85 cases of "being linked to other people's information" were confirmed in 11 prefectures, including recent cases, in the medical field, and there was a risk that other people's information could be viewed.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare says that five cases of viewing another person's medical information have been confirmed by November last year and have already been corrected, but the organization believes that the number of cases viewed may increase further.

In this survey, 5,3929 medical institutions responded that they had some kind of trouble since the system began operation, and as a result, they were unable to confirm the information and were temporarily asked to pay the full amount at the counter.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has said that the registration of other people's information seems to be caused by a mistake in the input of health insurance unions, and has requested unions to inspect and report by the end of next month.

A series of troubles in the medical field

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare says that it will lead to the provision of high-quality medical care, but there are a series of problems in the field.

Clinics that provide internal medicine and surgical examinations in Kita-ku, Tokyo, have introduced an adult system in the hope that this will lead to a reduction in work, and it is said that less than 1% of patients use "Myna Health Insurance Card".

On this day, an elderly woman who had forgotten her four-digit PIN was accompanied by a staff member who guided her to remove her mask and verify her identity with facial recognition.

However, according to the clinic, trouble occurs once every few days, and although there are no cases where other people's information was registered, there have been a number of cases where information cannot be confirmed, such as being displayed as "not applicable".

Since April alone, more than 4 patients had paid the full cost because they did not bring their conventional health insurance cards, and there were two patients who had symptoms such as fever but left without being examined when they heard that they had paid the full amount.

From June 1, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has updated the operation manual so that even if the information cannot be confirmed with the "Myna Health Insurance Card", you will be asked to pay the co-payment such as 4%, but the clinic is worried about whether you will be able to pay the difference later if you are actually uninsured.

In other cases, there were cases where the patient's name was circled and the kanji was not displayed correctly, the symbol indicating the company or organization where the employee worked was not displayed, and the reading function did not work well.

A woman

in her 50s who used her "Myna Health Insurance Card" several times said, "I was able to do it properly every time without any problems, and I would be grateful if it could be used correctly, but I also hear about troubles, so I am worried that I don't want others to see my information."

Dr. Hiromichi Ito, Director

of "Ito Oji Kamiya Internal Medicine Surgical Clinic" "Since other people's information should not be linked, there is a risk of following past medicines and issuing the wrong medicine without realizing it, and it is also related to allergy information. I hope that only when everyone can operate with peace of mind will there be a discussion about eliminating the traditional health insurance card."

Troubles over "Myna Health Insurance Card" What's going on?

The "Myna Health Insurance Card" began full-scale operation nationwide in October 2021, but various problems have occurred, such as the registration of information of another person.

"Myna Health Insurance Card" allows you to check your medical expenses and medication information on a dedicated portal site.

In addition, if the patient agrees to share their personal information, the medical institution can also check the information, and the government says that it will lead to the provision of better medical care based on the data, and plans to abolish the current health insurance card next fall.

However, in May, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare revealed that 10,5 cases were confirmed in which other people's information was registered in about one year until November last year, and of these, 11 cases were actually viewed on information such as medical expenses and drugs.

In both cases, corrections have been taken.

However, in this survey by the National Federation of Health Physicians' Associations, at least 1 cases, including recent cases, were confirmed in the medical field that were linked to other people's information, and we believe that the number of cases viewed by the organization may increase further.

Why other people's information?

[Cause 1: Mistake at the time of registration ...]

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) believes that the cause was an error entered when a health insurance union or other organization registered the member's health insurance card and My Number card information when registering.

Of the 7312,9 cases, more than 7100,<> cases, more than <>%, were found through a voluntary inspection by the Association Kenpo, a union to which employees of small and medium-sized enterprises belong.

"Association Kenpo" received the subscriber's My Number information from the company side and registered it, but it is said that the incorrect registration occurred because the number entered by the company was incorrect or the parent-child information was mixed.

[Cause 2: Another person with the same surname and the same date of birth ...]

The remaining approximately 200 cases have been confirmed by several other health insurance societies.

According to the country, when the subscriber's My Number was not known and was referred to the basic resident register system and linked to the insurance card, there was a case where another person with the same name and the same name was mistakenly registered because it looked up only three pieces of information in katakana: name, date of birth, and gender.

Registration of another person's information What are the measures to prevent recurrence?

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) has asked all approximately 7300,3400 health insurance societies nationwide to check whether there were any incorrect registrations in addition to the more than 7,5 cases that have already been corrected, and to report them by the end of July.

In the future, when making inquiries using the basic resident register system, we will require thorough confirmation that not only the katakana name, date of birth, and gender, but also the kanji name and address match.

The government is also refusing the system to check for human errors during data entry, but it will be next fiscal year.

Other troubles Temporary full burden and arbitrarily linking

In the medical field, registration information cannot be confirmed with the "Myna Health Insurance Card", and there are cases where patients are asked to pay the full amount temporarily at the counter.

In June, the government updated its operation manual and asked medical institutions to pay their own expenses, such as 6%, at the counter, and to confirm accurate information at a later date.

In addition, depending on the country, five cases were confirmed in which the health insurance card and My Number card were integrated even though the person did not wish to do so.

The national government informs local governments to thoroughly confirm their intentions.

What we can do is

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare says that you can check whether your information is registered correctly on a dedicated portal site.

If another person's information is displayed at a medical institution or pharmacy, please contact the "My Number General Toll-Free Number for Citizens" at 0120-95-0178.

"It could develop into a serious problem that directly affects lives and health."

Professor Hiroshi Miyashita of Chuo University, who is familiar with the My Number system, said, "Among the various troubles related to My Number cards, the 'Myna Health Insurance Card' has the potential to develop into the biggest risk. It can develop into serious problems that directly affect the lives and health of people who take drugs they should not take, and the quality is different from other problems."

Regarding the government's policy of abolishing the current health insurance card in the fall of next year, he said, "The situation is somewhat hasty because there are some misentries. I think that some people feel that the insurance card they have been using for a long time is more convenient, so we will allow the combined period of use, which is currently "one year", to be long, and deal with new problems that have arisen. I believe that such a way of proceeding will increase trust in the My Number system as a whole."