(おんらいんしんりょう)

online medical consultation, telemedicine

(つかう)

to use

(ひと)

person / people

(ふえる)

to increase; to grow

(いえ)

house

(すまーとふぉん)

smartphone

(ぱそこん)

personal computer

(いしゃ)

doctor

(そうだん)

consultation; discussion

(ひろがる)

to spread

(こうせいろうどうしょう)

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

(ほうほう)

method; way

(とりいれる)

to take in; to absorb

(びょういん)

hospital

(しんりょうじょ)

clinic, doctor's surgery

(きょねん)

last year

(とくに)

especially / particularly

(やま)

mountain

(しま)

island

(ちいき)

region; area

(ちかく)

nearby

(すくない)

few, scarce

(ばす)

bus

(くるま)

car

(ながい)

long

(じかん)

time

(かける)

to build (a bridge)

(かよう)

to commute / attend regularly

(いどう)

movement, to move

(はなし)

talk, story

(きく)

to listen, hear

(くすり)

medicine

(とどける)

to deliver

(ばあい)

case; situation

(もんだい)

problem

(がめん)

screen, display

(からだ)

body

(ようす)

appearance; state

(わかる)

to understand, be clear

(いんたーねっと)

Internet

(つかいかた)

how to use; usage

(にがて)

not good at, poor at

(こうれいしゃ)

elderly person

(おおい)

many

(くに)

country; the government

(あんぜん)

safety

(るーる)

rule

(つくる)

to make

(すこしずつ)

little by little

(すすめる)

to advance; to move forward

(かんがえ)

idea; thought; plan

is doing, has been doing (ongoing state/action)

Expresses a continuing action or resulting state. Formed with て-form + いる. Can describe an action in progress or a state resulting from a past change.

according to ...

Cites a source of information. The noun before によると is the source. Often followed by a reported statement.

than / more than

Indicates comparison. Used to say prices rose on average 2.8% compared to last year.

did ... (polite past)

Polite past tense of verbs. Formed with verb stem + ました. Used in formal or polite speech to describe completed actions.

and (non-exhaustive list)

や lists representative examples — Shikoku and Kyushu among other regions (四国や九州).

polite copula / is, am, are

Describes states such as the mother panda being healthy and the baby being small.

polite non-past tense

The polite non-past ～ます states what will happen — the funeral will continue.

if it is ~ / in the case of ~

Noun + なら picks up a topic and states what is true in that case: with online care (as opposed to visiting), you need no train or bus.

without doing; don't do

Negative te-form used to indicate doing something without another action, or as a soft command.

can do ..., to be able to ...

Verb dictionary form + ことができる expresses ability or possibility. More formal than the potential verb form. Common in written Japanese and announcements.

have someone do (for me)

Expresses receiving a favor/action from someone.

on the other hand

Introduces the opposing concern: 一方で、心配する声もある.

only ~

Limiter particle. 女性だけが宇宙船に乗りました means 'only women boarded the spaceship.'

hard to ~; difficult to ~

Attached to a verb stem to describe difficulty — 'people who have difficulty hearing'.

while doing ...

Verb stem + ながら indicates doing two things simultaneously. The action before ながら is the secondary action; the main action follows.

to go on doing / continue to (from now)

In '増えていく' – 'will continue to increase (into the future)'. Indicates continuing trend going forward.

オンライン診療を使う人が増える

More people are using online medical consultations

家からスマートフォンやパソコンで医者に相談できる「オンライン診療」が広がっています。

"Online medical care", which lets you consult a doctor from home by smartphone or computer, is spreading.

厚生労働省によると、この方法を取り入れた病院や診療所は、去年より増えました。

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the number of hospitals and clinics that have adopted this approach rose compared with last year.

特に山や島の地域では、近くに病院が少ないです。

In mountain and island areas in particular, there are few hospitals nearby.

バスや車で長い時間かけて通う人もいます。

Some people spend a long time travelling there by bus or car.

オンライン診療なら、移動しないで医者の話を聞くことができます。

With online consultations, you can hear what the doctor has to say without having to travel.

薬を家に届けてもらえる場合もあります。

In some cases you can even have your medicine delivered to your home.

一方で、問題もあります。

On the other hand, there are problems too.

画面だけでは体の様子が分かりにくいことがあります。

Through a screen alone, it can be hard to tell how a patient's body is doing.

インターネットの使い方が苦手な高齢者も多いです。

There are also many elderly people who are not comfortable using the internet.

国は、安全に使えるルールを作りながら、少しずつ進めていく考えです。

The government intends to move ahead step by step while drawing up rules for safe use.