these worthwhile efforts have notably included information on medical practitioners by speciality in finland for example health workforce planning is part of an economywide workforce planning exercise rather than occupationspecific the main objective of overall workforce planning is to provide advice on tertiary education student intake to achieve a better balance between future workforce supply and demand meanwhile japan has conducted an analysis of physicians nurses longterm care workers pharmacists and other health workers ono et al these efforts should be continued and broadened to take in other parts of the workforce such as allied health professionals