D.JOY Inc. announced that it will strengthen support for medical institutions introducing its “Leave Alert” system, which uses beacon technology to detect in real time when inpatients leave the hospital or ward without authorization. The initiative is designed to help hospitals respond to requirements for minimizing physical restraints, which became mandatory under Japan’s FY2024 medical fee revision and were further strengthened in the FY2026 revision scheduled to take effect this June. In response to urgent concerns from clinical sites that “patients may be in danger unless they are restrained,” Leave Alert offers a mechanism of “watchful support, not surveillance.” By attaching transmitters to patients and installing receivers, a warning lamp is activated the moment a patient leaves the ward without authorization. The system helps protect patient safety even at night, when staffing is limited, or in locations outside staff members’ direct line of sight. At Shonan Kamakura General Hospital, the number of reported unauthorized hospital or ward departures decreased in wards where Leave Alert was introduced. Staff commented that although there had previously been situations where they had no choice but to rely on restraints, the system has made it easier to protect patient safety while also considering patient freedom and prevention of ADL decline. Japan’s June 2024 medical fee revision added “minimization of physical restraints” to the facility standards for basic hospitalization fees, making it mandatory across all wards, from acute and chronic care to ICUs and emergency wards. Medical institutions that fail to meet the standards face a penalty of a 40-point daily reduction in hospitalization fees after the end of transitional measures in June 2025. The FY2026 revision further strengthens this framework by dividing the standards into two stages: standards related to institutional systems, such as team formation and policy development, and standards related to outco