Is it true that Japan has really bad medical care?

Question

My finance teacher told me this so is it true?

Answer 1

It has its good and bad points. Overall, it is very good.

I had surgery here in Japan. I was treated very well, but in some ways I was over-treated, like having an IV for several days after when I know in the US they dont give you an IV at all, just send you home. So there were many things which I felt were unnecessary, but that is their belief system so I just went along with it.

Dentists are a different story. I have found a nice, modern dentist. But I have seen some horrors here... very old rusty equipment... jars of teeth sitting on counters... and I went to a gynecologist once that scared the death out of me it was just so old, dusty, and dirty.  

Answer 2

No. Medical care in Japan is excellent.

Answer 3

Let me put it to you this way. Japan is in the top four of all countries that has the best life expectancy in the world. Japan even beats out the U.S. in this category.

Answer 4

Generally speaking Japanese medi-care system is much better than USA's one. I don't know any country which has better medi-care than Japan ever. May be northern Europe but It means very much more expensive health insurance or tax charged there seemingly.

Answer 5

There are some problems with health care in Japan-but overall it is good. Over medication is an issue-physicians in Japan earn money by writing prescriptions so that is an obvious conflict of interest. Emergency Rooms have been known to turn away people they don't feel like treating! I guess really bad medical care would be better than no medical care.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-...

Answer 6

in addition to the highest life expectancy, they also have the lowest rate of maternal and infant death in the world - so you are least likely to die while giving birth. Perhaps that`s because you stay in hospital 5-6 days after birth (7-8 days for a cesarean).....unlike the US where you will be kicked out within days.

In addition in my area, all children get absolutely free medical care and medication from birth to age 12.

I might not always agree with some of the practices.....but they are obviously doing a lot of things right.

Answer 7

So long as they don't leave their medical tools in your body cavity, amputate the wrong woman's breast, or bury you under a floorboard to hide a conspiracy, then yeah, you're alright.

There's no way the Japanese medical system compares to Northern Europe, Canada, or any of those social welfare societies.

Answer 8

No way , Japan actually has very good medical care.  

Answer 9

Japan has good national health care, but there are many problems with it. It is VERY expensive, and it takes a long time to get treatment. Also, patient privacy is not the same as it is in North America, but that's not a problem for most Japanese. Japanese doctors are also pretty good in general, but for some reason, there are many who seem to get away without doing a typical internship, meaning that some do not have as much "practice" before they become a full doctor. Many Japanese doctors also have strange ideas about what is good for the patient; for example, it is common for Japanese doctors to never tell patients that they have cancer. They feel that it would cause undue stress in the patient, and while this may be true, I'm sure most patients would like to know.

Japanese dentists are very good, but they are very slow. Whereas you could get a filling done in an hour or less in Europe or North America, you usually have to see the dentist twice, meaning it can take up to a week to get your tooth filled. This is slowly changing.

Japanese medical care is very good, and every health care system has it's problems, so I don't think you can say the Japanese system is better than the American or English or German health care system. I do know, however, that many Japanese doctors go to Scandinavian countries to do research, so perhaps that gives you a clue about who is the best (maybe).

Answer 10

Japan has really good health care. They have the longest life expectancy in the world, so they are obviously taking good care of their people.

So do a lot of other countries. I'm told France is probably one of the top ones in taking care of their citizens.

America has good care. But then again, its not affordable. So with that retrospect, How are we to judge any other nations health care when we refuse to help those that just can't afford to pay outrageous prices? Or bought into an insurance provider that refuses to pay because they deem whatever medical need "unnecessary". Or the fact that people have gone bankrupt over medical needs that others in other nations have received for free under their universal health care?

Your finance teacher needs to look at things as a whole. As opposed to what they think they know.

Answer 11

In the US you can get anywhere from bad to great medical care depending on how much you pay.

In Japan you get mediocre to good medical care depending on which hospital you go to and how crowded it is.  Cost is government subsidized - you only pay 30%.

I think on the average the US is better if you have the money (have good insurance policy), but I wouldn't say Japan is really bad.  Of course there are problems, as others have pointed out.