The Professionals S2017E06 - Bringing Terminal Patients Peace of Mind

Taketoshi Ozawa, Home Care Physician Gravely ill individuals who want to spend their final days at home - making this wish possible is home care physician Taketoshi Ozawa. He coordinates with other professionals from more than 160 businesses, including care managers, home care support services and home care nurses to orchestrate 24-hour care and support for patients afflicted with a variety of illnesses, and their families. When working with patients, Ozawa's listening techniques are particularly noteworthy. Rather than relying on intuition, his approach incorporates teachings from clinical ethics and other fields. He devotes almost 1 hour per consultation, but the time is not spent only on addressing medical issues. Instead, Ozawa devotes a lot of effort to drawing out his patients' concerns and wishes, and those of their families. When a patient is terminally ill, even doctors are powerless. But Ozawa accepts and values this. "I don't want to forget the feeling of wanting to help", he says, adding, "I may be powerless, but I'll be by my patients' side".