Behavioral medicine in Teikyo University and Toho University

Behavioral medicine has increased in importance to become a promising field in medical education. The Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health and Toho University School of Medicine were evaluated in terms of their educational emphasis on behavioral medicine. The Teikyo University Graduate School of Public Health has the following five core requirements, as in the global standards: behavioral medicine, biostatistics, epidemiology, occupational health, and health policy management. Behavioral medicine mainly encompasses psychology in normal populations, working as a gateway to the medical world among non-medical professionals who are interested in medicine. The Toho University School of Medicine aims to produce “good clinicians” who have a thorough knowledge, a deep sense of professional ethics, and a profound humanity to contribute to human welfare through medicine. In behavioral medicine here, systematic knowledge based on human behavior in medicine is taught from the first to sixth year. Psychosomatic physicians could be among the most optimal professionals for behavioral medicine because of the similarities between psychosomatic medicine and behavioral medicine. The establishment of a Center of Behavioral Medicine is a potential solution to tackle forthcoming medical problems, such as increasing medical costs and an aging society. We must focus on the importance of behavior change as a way for preventive medicine to connect hospitals and communities in Japan.