Supporting Healthcare Institutions to Ease Visitor Restrictions in Response to FY2026 Medical Fee Revisions
Dr.JOY Inc. has enhanced its 'Smart Visitation' management system to assist hospitals in complying with the FY2026 medical fee revision, which mandates the establishment of visitor policies. The update includes new features for setting ward-specific visitation rules, enabling institutions to safely ease restrictions while maintaining regulatory compliance.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 22, 2026 at 18:00
- 🔍 Collected: May 22, 2026 at 09:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 22, 2026 at 10:24 (52 min after Collected)
## Response to FY2026 Medical Fee Revisions and Support for Easing Visitor Restrictions
The fiscal 2026 medical fee revision (effective June 2026) has introduced new regulations ensuring visitation opportunities for hospitalized patients. While establishing a visitor policy has become a recommended general rule for hospital base rates, it is now a mandatory requirement for facilities billing for 'Admission and Discharge Support Addition (1, 2, and 3).' This includes the formulation, dissemination, and periodic review of visitor policies. Dr.JOY Inc. (Headquarters: Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO/Physician: Hiroaki Ishimatsu), provider of the visitor management system 'Smart Visitation,' supports institutions in establishing the necessary compliance framework and provides the operational infrastructure to move toward easing restrictions. Additionally, on May 22, 2026, the company will release a new feature allowing users to set hospital visit purposes and apply specific rules for each ward.
As of May 2026, the system has been adopted by 24 facilities nationwide (including those in preparation), ranging from university hospitals and acute general hospitals to rehabilitation and long-term care facilities.
### New Visitation Policy Requirements
The 2026 revisions added the following requirements to the facility standards for Admission and Discharge Support Addition (1, 2, and 3):
- Do not hinder family visitation to hospitalized patients without legitimate reasons such as infection control.
- Even when restrictions are unavoidable, ensure they are not unnecessarily strict.
- Formulate and periodically review visitor policies.
- Display policies in visible areas of hospital wards to ensure they are fully communicated to patients and families.
This revision marks the formalization of ensuring visitation opportunities as a mandatory rule to address cases where pandemic-era visitor restrictions remain unnecessarily strict. Medical institutions billing for these additions are required to establish this comprehensive system.
### The Three Values of 'Smart Visitation'
'Smart Visitation' offers the following benefits:
1. **Support for Compliance Frameworks**: Comprehensively supports the formulation and disclosure of visitor policies, logging of dissemination efforts, and creation of evidence for reviews based on monthly usage data.
2. **Environment for Easing Restrictions**: Creates an environment where visitor restrictions can be safely eased through automated web reservations and check-in/out management.
3. **Operational Efficiency**: Reduces the burden on nursing, rehabilitation, and MSW staff through visitor arrival predictions and facilitates unmanned reception and decreased phone inquiries.
### Case Study: Koyama Memorial Hospital
Koyama Memorial Hospital in Kashima City, Ibaraki Prefecture (224 beds, acute care), faced challenges with congestion and long wait times due to manual, handwritten visitor logs. With the adoption of 'Smart Visitation,' they extended visitation time from 15 minutes to 1 hour and removed restrictions on the number of companions. Post-implementation, lobby congestion was significantly reduced, allowing the hospital to transition to unmanned operations in the afternoons. The administration office reported, 'Seeing patients check in smoothly proved that the implementation was well worth it.'
The fiscal 2026 medical fee revision (effective June 2026) has introduced new regulations ensuring visitation opportunities for hospitalized patients. While establishing a visitor policy has become a recommended general rule for hospital base rates, it is now a mandatory requirement for facilities billing for 'Admission and Discharge Support Addition (1, 2, and 3).' This includes the formulation, dissemination, and periodic review of visitor policies. Dr.JOY Inc. (Headquarters: Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO/Physician: Hiroaki Ishimatsu), provider of the visitor management system 'Smart Visitation,' supports institutions in establishing the necessary compliance framework and provides the operational infrastructure to move toward easing restrictions. Additionally, on May 22, 2026, the company will release a new feature allowing users to set hospital visit purposes and apply specific rules for each ward.
As of May 2026, the system has been adopted by 24 facilities nationwide (including those in preparation), ranging from university hospitals and acute general hospitals to rehabilitation and long-term care facilities.
### New Visitation Policy Requirements
The 2026 revisions added the following requirements to the facility standards for Admission and Discharge Support Addition (1, 2, and 3):
- Do not hinder family visitation to hospitalized patients without legitimate reasons such as infection control.
- Even when restrictions are unavoidable, ensure they are not unnecessarily strict.
- Formulate and periodically review visitor policies.
- Display policies in visible areas of hospital wards to ensure they are fully communicated to patients and families.
This revision marks the formalization of ensuring visitation opportunities as a mandatory rule to address cases where pandemic-era visitor restrictions remain unnecessarily strict. Medical institutions billing for these additions are required to establish this comprehensive system.
### The Three Values of 'Smart Visitation'
'Smart Visitation' offers the following benefits:
1. **Support for Compliance Frameworks**: Comprehensively supports the formulation and disclosure of visitor policies, logging of dissemination efforts, and creation of evidence for reviews based on monthly usage data.
2. **Environment for Easing Restrictions**: Creates an environment where visitor restrictions can be safely eased through automated web reservations and check-in/out management.
3. **Operational Efficiency**: Reduces the burden on nursing, rehabilitation, and MSW staff through visitor arrival predictions and facilitates unmanned reception and decreased phone inquiries.
### Case Study: Koyama Memorial Hospital
Koyama Memorial Hospital in Kashima City, Ibaraki Prefecture (224 beds, acute care), faced challenges with congestion and long wait times due to manual, handwritten visitor logs. With the adoption of 'Smart Visitation,' they extended visitation time from 15 minutes to 1 hour and removed restrictions on the number of companions. Post-implementation, lobby congestion was significantly reduced, allowing the hospital to transition to unmanned operations in the afternoons. The administration office reported, 'Seeing patients check in smoothly proved that the implementation was well worth it.'
FAQ
令和8年度診療報酬改定で、面会に関してどのような要件が新設されましたか？
入退院支援加算（1・2・3）の施設基準において、感染対策等の正当な理由がない限り面会を妨げないこと、面会制限が必要な場合でも厳格になりすぎないよう配慮すること、面会規定の策定・周知・定期的な見直しを行うことが義務要件として追加されました。
面会管理システム「スマート面会」は、診療報酬改定への対応にどう貢献しますか？
面会規定のシステム設定と公開、予約画面や掲示物を通じた家族への周知、面会機会の客観的なデータ証明、月次の利用状況レポート出力による定期的な見直しの根拠提供という形で、体制整備を網羅的に支援します。
小山記念病院が「スマート面会」を導入したことによる具体的な効果は何ですか？
面会手続きのオンライン化により受付列の混雑が解消し、導入前は1時間以上かかっていた繁忙時の対応が10分程度に短縮されました。また、受付の無人化運用を実現し、病棟業務における面会予定の事前把握も可能となりました。
今回のアップデートで「スマート面会」に追加される新機能は何ですか？
2026年5月22日にリリースされる新機能により、病棟ごとに来院目的を自由に設定し、目的別に面会ルールを適用することが可能になります。
スマート面会を導入している医療機関の規模や種類は？
2026年5月現在、大学病院、急性期総合病院、リハビリテーション病院、介護老人保健施設など、全国の急性期から療養期まで幅広い24施設で導入が進んでいます。