Japanese IT giant Fujitsu has unveiled a revolutionary digital twin solution that leverages machine learning and generative AI to simulate the societal effects of healthcare policies initiated by local governments. Dubbed the Policy Twin, this groundbreaking product aims to cut costs and enhance preventive healthcare outcomes. In field trials, Fujitsu’s Policy Twin reportedly identified policy candidates that were able to double cost savings and health improvements.
This tool has the potential to standardize effective healthcare policies across different municipalities. “The solution recreates previously successful local government policies on a digital twin and uses data to generate new policy candidates and gauge effectiveness,” noted the company. In trials, it allowed for the creation of policy measures that doubled medical expense savings and improved health indicators compared to the previous year, all while meeting resource constraints. Fujitsu highlighted its capacity to achieve multiple objectives, reduce planning times, and aid in consensus-building.
Fujitsu’s efforts are part of a broader initiative termed Social Digital Twin, incorporating behavioral economics into digital services. Its objective is to assist in tackling complex societal issues. The new Policy Twin applies “empirical economics,” employing data science to optimally allocate resources and assess the efficacy of policy initiatives recreated digitally.
The practical implementation involves converting publicly available municipal policies into machine-readable formats. Subsequently, new flowchart candidates are generated by cross-referencing successful policies from various municipalities. This process benefits from large language models and machine learning, allowing for simulation of potential service provisions. Municipal agencies in Japan can start testing this service on December 6, with the aim of launching by fiscal year 2025 in the healthcare sector.
Fujitsu asserts that, with Policy Twin, various municipalities can enhance resident health, save costs, and prevent disease. Importantly, it facilitates cooperative policy development by demonstrating the rationale behind proposed measures. The company envisions this technology leading to the creation of best practices and policy standardization across municipalities.
While the focus is currently on Japanese municipalities, Fujitsu has not yet clarified any plans for expanding internationally. Nevertheless, by improving wellbeing and supporting policy standardization, Fujitsu’s digital twin solution could provide a blueprint for similar advancements in healthcare systems worldwide.
