“Mydodes”: Meeting the Medical Frontline’s Need for Answers - Fast
- Streamlining Medical Information to Solve On-site Challenges and Build Trust -

The Alfresa Group is committed to the stable supply of pharmaceuticals as a form of social infrastructure that supports community healthcare. At Alfresa Corporation, which is engaged in the Ethical Pharmaceuticals Wholesaling Business, MSs—sales representatives with specialized knowledge of the pharmaceutical wholesaling business—play a central marketing role by acting as intermediaries between pharmaceutical companies and medical institutions, selling ethical pharmaceuticals and other products, and providing information. To satisfy diverse needs on the medical frontlines, in addition to the stable supply of pharmaceuticals, these MS propose a variety of products and services utilizing digital technology, link together physicians at hospitals and clinics, pharmacists at pharmacies, MRs^*2 at pharmaceutical companies, and other parties, and deliver information required on the frontlines in a timely manner.
In order to provide digital assistance for the physicians’ workstyle reform (including caps on overtime work) and the social challenge of continuously providing patients with care whose quality and safety are guaranteed, in 2021, Alfresa Corporation released “Mydodes,” a communication tool that connects physicians and MRs online. Having undergone a continuous series of improvements that incorporated the feedback of users on the frontlines, Mydodes will mark its fifth year since entering service in March 2026.

1. * 1 MS：Short for Marketing Specialist. Salesperson at a pharmaceutical wholesaler who handles the stable supply of pharmaceuticals to and sharing of information with medical facilities.
2. * 2 MR：Short for Medical Representative. Medical information personnel at a pharmaceutical company, etc. who provide information on the effectiveness and safety of the company’s products to healthcare professionals.

Here, we introduce Runa Hayashi, from Sales Section 1, Nagoya-Nishi Branch, Aichi Sales Department 1, Tokai Regional Office, Medical Sales Division at Alfresa Corporation. Ms. Hayashi, who has assisted with the popularization of Mydodes right on the frontlines ever since it was first released, has faithfully carved out quite a career for herself, going from SA^*3 to MS in the span of twenty years. We asked her about her efforts over time in providing detailed information that supports the busy medical frontlines and building up trust in the process.

1. * 3 SA：Short for Sales Assistant. Specialist who handles the delivery of pharmaceuticals.

From SA to MS: A Two-decade Career Accumulated One Step at a Time from a Position of Inexperience

Ms. Hayashi joined Alfresa Corporation as an SA in April 2005. As her previous career involved overseeing accounting at a materials manufacturer, she had no knowledge of either the medical industry or SA duties. Through her decade of experience serving as an SA, she came to recognize the importance of delivering the pharmaceuticals that are needed to the places that need them on a timely basis in order to support community healthcare. From there, she embarked on a new step in her career by becoming an MS.

Ms. Hayashi initially felt some confusion with MS duties, which she had no experience in. However, her decision to take on that role was largely supported by her desire to broaden her potential and further develop herself. She looks back on the state of her mind at the time, saying, “After much deliberation on whether or not to become an MS, I decided to take a step forward.” At the time, there were few examples in that region of female employees making the career transition from SA to MS. By engaging in her new work duties in good faith, all the while finding her way, she proceeded to steadily build up practical experience. Today, she is in charge of clinics and dispensing pharmacies in the Nagoya City area. While fulfilling her responsibility of providing a steady supply of pharmaceuticals, she acts in her self-referred capacity as “an MS who helps organize medical information on the frontlines” by conducting online meetings and chat messaging with the use of Mydodes. In doing so, she helps support community healthcare through the provision of content on pharmaceutical companies and other information.

The Organizational Culture of “Valuing Harmony and Supporting Each Other” at the Nagoya-Nishi Branch, Which Is Fostered Through Mutual Consultation

There are nineteen MS who belong to the Nagoya-Nishi Branch, six of which are women. The environment there is one whose members can exchange opinions regardless of their age or experience. In that environment, Ms. Hayashi is who younger coworkers go to first when they want to ask for advice.
Ms. Hayashi recalls, “I heard that while I was on work leave, I came up in a conversation among other branch members, who said, ‘Mom has the day off today.’ I couldn’t help but laugh. Coworkers just joining us are the same age as my kids. In terms of life experience, yes, they have some qualities that make me feel like they are actual children. At the same time, it makes me glad that we have the kind of relationship in which we can freely discuss anything, to the point where they do indeed see me as a ‘mom’.” Ms. Hayashi’s stance of watching over the growth of younger coworkers with natural ease makes it easy for them to consult with her whenever the need arises. Atsumi Fujita, Manager of the Nagoya-Nishi Branch, places focus on fellow branch members fostering closer bonds, an example of which is encouraging the holding of “girls’ nights out.” Largely thanks to such initiatives, an organizational culture of “valuing harmony and supporting each other” is being steadily fostered at the branch.

On how she interacts with other branch members, Ms. Hayashi recalls her own past experience: “I don’t consciously do anything in particular. There are times when someone asks me for advice and I can’t give them all the answers. When that happens, I say to them, ‘Let’s go ask (someone who does have the answers) together.’ When I first became an MS, my superior helped me out countless times. Now, I hope to become somebody capable of giving our younger coworkers ‘peace of mind.’ It’s like a relay race of mutual support.” This approach of offering advice by consistently remaining on equal footing with those younger coworkers without dismissing them and searching together for clues to solutions serves to encourage those coworkers to take on challenges and lends vitality to the branch.

Utilizing Mydodes to Mitigate Physicians’ Burden of Obtaining Information

An indispensable tool in Ms. Hayashi’s duties, Mydodes has been aggressively utilized since its introduction. Behind that is awareness of the challenge of providing necessary information in a timely manner without placing the burden of obtaining that information on busy physicians. Even in situations that are difficult to fully handle solely through on-site visits, Mydodes puts an environment in place that streamlines the sharing and verification of materials and enables physicians to access the information they need in a short period of time. Ms. Hayashi positions Mydodes as a tool for managing the flow of medical information on the frontlines, rather than merely a means of communication. By working in coordination with internal personnel responsible for medical device sales and creating an environment in which pharmaceutical company MRs and physicians can smoothly access the information they need, Mydodes provides the foundation that supports MSs in fulfilling their marketing role as intermediaries, and that is precisely why it has become an indispensable tool.

Utilizing the Web Meeting Function to Promote the Use of Mydodes

The introduction of Mydodes has greatly transformed the quality of communication with physicians. An example of this is use of the platform’s chat function to share information with a sense of speed. Materials can be sent instantly and securely to physicians looking for drug information without them waiting for their next visit. The sincerity in ensuring to respond to such a need to know things right away has led to an even higher level of trust than before. Says Ms. Hayashi, “With Mydodes, we can now provide a level of attentive support that was difficult to achieve through in-person visits alone. Having a platform that is secure and allows documents to be exchanged quickly gives me confidence that both physicians and pharmaceutical company MRs can use it with peace of mind.”
In addition, Ms. Hayashi also effectively utilizes Mydodes’ web meeting feature to link together physicians and MRs. She shares: “With more and more pharmaceutical companies supporting the platform, I conduct web meetings as opportunities to introduce newly registered MRs to physicians I work with. In doing so, I put an environment in place that makes for greater ease of use rather than simply proposing a tool. To be more specific, I accord consideration to MRs by sharing information on physicians’ fields of specialization and their research themes in recent years in a concise format prior to the meetings, thereby making it easier for MRs to prepare for information-sharing. I also offer advance explanations on platform operation and run connection checks to verify network conditions so that platform beginners can also feel comfortable using it. Through such efforts, I do what I can to facilitate opportunities for dialogue that both physicians and MRs find smooth and meaningful.”
Ms. Hayashi reveals, “The truth is, I am not great with digital technologies.” She continues, “For exactly that reason, I accorded top priority to the method that places the least burden on physicians on the frontlines. Having entered this industry from a completely different one, I now know all too well how important organizing information and making it easy to understand is. I encourage the use of Mydodes as the optimal tool for presenting the information needed right at the moment in just the right quantity without interrupting busy physicians.”

“People Over Self. Kind-heartedness and Patience, Never Anger.”

The flexibility in proactively accepting change in the form of unhesitatingly mastering the use of Mydodes as a new tool to elevate the value of information and the quality of dialogue is deeply linked to the “mindset” valued by Ms. Hayashi, who says “When I was in junior high school, I was taught: ‘People over self. Kind-heartedness and patience, never anger.’ I cherish this phrase. At the time, I simply found it interesting how the way the characters were written expressed what they meant. Now that I am an adult, I have an acute sense of what those words really mean. I am constantly mindful to not emphasize the self, and to accept others with kind-heartedness.”

Ms. Hayashi also regularly ensures to clearly distinguish between when she is on and off the job, which she explains in a cheerful tone: “Recently, I’ve been playing in a band made up of working adults that I was invited to join by friends I got to know at a place I often visit. I am passionate about this ‘after-school activity for grown-ups’.” She also actively takes advantage of work leaves for refreshment purposes and other systems offered by the company, saying, “I fully enjoy my time off work to recharge. That balance is exactly what enables me to always take on challenges with a fresh mindset and give them my all when at work.”

The Dual Challenge of Serving Community Healthcare and Working in the Interest of the Future of the Nagoya-Nishi Branch

While diligently engaging in the work duties right in front of her over the last twenty years at Alfresa Corporation, Ms. Hayashi has slowly but surely materialized a workstyle that suits her. The experience she has cultivated thus far, plus her forward-looking stance born from her healthy balance of time spent on and off the job, has guided her beyond the confines of personal growth towards a new challenge for making the future of community healthcare and her branch a better one.
The challenge that Ms. Hayashi has currently set for herself is twofold. The first is to keep running the “relay race of mutual support” that started with her superior and continued with her, and to embed that concept as a piece of organizational culture that naturally permeates the entire branch. Says Ms. Hayashi, “I want to keep on safeguarding an environment where anyone can ask for advice without hesitation, one conducive to mutual support and the thriving growth of our young members.”
The second challenge is the further deepening of digital technologies, with “Mydodes” as the focus. In October 2025, Ms. Hayashi was appointed as “Digital Leader,” who is responsible for heading the promotion of digital transformation (DX). As the person overseeing digital tool training activities in the Nagoya-Nishi Branch, she disseminates the latest information on Mydodes and other DX measures received from the head office to partners who transcend internal and external boundaries, such as internal personnel in charge of medical equipment sales and MRs at pharmaceutical companies. Says Ms. Hayashi, “My goal is to spread a system at our branch that helps our partners feel at ease knowing that Alfresa will get them the information they need in a seamless way.”
She quietly adds, “I am not doing anything special. The only thing I can say is that I have always conducted myself with a single-minded desire to show sincerity to those right in front of me and to not keep them waiting.” Such a “mindset” forms a true strength in supporting the medical frontlines.

Ensuring to Provide Information to Each Individual Physician in Front of Her for the Sake of the Health of All People

Ms. Hayashi shares her outlook for the future with us: “By diligently engaging in my day-to-day duties, I can mitigate the burden on physicians, which makes the patients that lie beyond them happy. Given that, there’s no way I can neglect any of those duties. The philosophy of the Alfresa Group is: ‘We create and deliver a fresh life for all.’ I feel that sentiment starts with ensuring to deliver to physicians the information they need in just the right quantity. While continuing to leverage Mydodes, I intend to keep on aiming to become the kind of presence that encourages others to say, ‘I’m glad we consulted with Ms. Hayashi.’”

A Few Words from Mr. Fujita, Manager of the Nagoya-Nishi Branch

Notice: This document is a translation of the original Japanese document and is for reference purposes only. In the event of any discrepancy between this translated document and the original Japanese document, the latter shall prevail.