Geriatric rehabilitation and long-term care insurance in Japan

The geriatric rehabilitation can be summarized in three words: reactivation, resocialization, and reintegration. The first modern programs for older people in Japan date back to 1963. From 1963 to 1993 the number of hospitalized older persons increased tenfold, and they occupied nearly half the hospitalized beds. This system was getting expensive with a rapid increase of old population. Then, Japan started the radical program of long-term care insurance (LTCI) in 2000. The new program is aimed the "socialization" of care through mandatory social insurance. The quantity of institutional and community-based care services increased and spread by profit derivation rapidly since the LTCI started, though further revision of this system may be required so that quality and quantity of various services would be satisfactory.