Our medical system should be modeled after the Japanese

[Tim]

When people opposed to socialized medicine cry foul on the topic, they generally point to countries like England or Mexico and suggest that they'd never want a system like those found there. I agree with them. That doesn't mean there's no place for socialization within medicine, though. Japan should be our model. Clinics and hospitals are run privately and can either bill the national health plan, which is paid for as part of the national income tax and pays for 70% of the cost, or a private one, which people can choose to pay for on their own in order to supplement the cost of the coverage not provided by the national health plan (the other 30%). The prices for services are standardized and required to be published at the front desk when you walk in. Hospitals are required to be non-profits, and prices are set by a committee. There's no doubt that a tremendous amount of R&D is done in Japan, so the argument that a national health insurance plan will thwart development is faulty.

Check out this link to compare the US and Japan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_...ry_comparisons

For the record, I went to a clinic today for a foot injury and it was the most pleasant, professional, and easy medical experience I've ever had in my life.

[CJF]

When people opposed to socialized medicine cry foul on the topic, they generally point to countries like England or Mexico and suggest that they'd never want a system like those found there. I agree with them. That doesn't mean there's no place for socialization within medicine, though. Japan should be our model. Clinics and hospitals are run privately and can either bill the national health plan, which is paid for as part of the national income tax and pays for 70% of the cost, or a private one, which people can choose to pay for on their own in order to supplement the cost of the coverage not provided by the national health plan (the other 30%). The prices for services are standardized and required to be published at the front desk when you walk in. Hospitals are required to be non-profits, and prices are set by a committee. There's no doubt that a tremendous amount of R&D is done in Japan, so the argument that a national health insurance plan will thwart development is faulty.

Check out this link to compare the US and Japan:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_...ry_comparisons

For the record, I went to a clinic today for a foot injury and it was the most pleasant, professional, and easy medical experience I've ever had in my life.

The R&D part of your post reminds me of when I was hit by a car in Tokyo and sent to a hospital. I was hit my third day in Japan so my language skills were quite poor. My comp took me to a hospital and the doctor recommended surgery. Surgery meant going home and not coming back to Japan, so I requested a second opinion. My mission president set up an appointment with one of the top ortho's in Tokyo who worked at Tokyo University Hospital. They spoke in Japanese the entire time and about half way through the consult my MP started shaking his head and waving his hands emphatically. The doctor kept drawing an imaginary line in the middle of my shin as they argued. The consult ended and we left. In the car on the way back to the mission home my MP in broken English told me that they wanted to try to build me a new knee and place it in the middle of my shin. I haven't been a big fan of the Japanese medical R&D since.

[Jeff Lebowski]

One of the most bizarre medical experiences of my life was visiting a doctor in Japan and watching him puff on a cigarette during the entire consultation. He also completely misdiagnosed my problem.

Another thing that amazed me was how long they would keep people in the hospital. We would frequently meet people who had just gotten out of the hospital after stays of up to six months for things that would have put you in for a week or two (max) in the US.

Maybe things have changed.

[Indy Coug]

Here would be a great time to claim that the Japanese healthcare system is responsible for them having the highest life expectancy of any major country on earth.

[myboynoah]

I'm happy to hear things turned out well, Tim.

I use the kidney stone test. I've had the experience in three countries: Japan, the U.S., and France.

In Japan they were very passive in treatment, preferring to wait and see if I passed it on my own. They seemed content to allow me to writhe in pain for weeks in hopes that the situation would resolve itself naturally. Plus they gave me suppository pain killers. Suppositories, Tim!!!

In the U.S., they had a plan and all the latest and greatest gadgets to aggressively resolve the problem. Plus they gave me some say in my treatment. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, problem solved, go home and recover.

In France, they were fairly aggressive in treatment like the U.S., but the equipment was a few generations older than that in the U.S. Plus they kept me catheterized for a full 24 hours after the procedure. Also, stent removal a few days later was most uncomfortable. But France had a miracle oral anti-inflamatory that made life a breeze prior to removal. Absolutely pain free. Of course, this may not have been very representative since it was all done at a private hospital.

I prefer the U.S. approach with the French anti-inflamatories. The Japanese can stick their suppository pain killers . . . well, you know.

[myboynoah]

One of the most bizarre medical experiences of my life was visiting a doctor in Japan and watching him puff on a cigarette during the entire consultation. He also completely misdiagnosed my problem.

Another thing that amazed me was how long they would keep people in the hospital. We would frequently meet people who had just gotten out of the hospital after stays of up to six months for things that would have put you in for a week or two (max) in the US.

Maybe things have changed.

Funny.

Our oldest cut her forehead on the furniture while young and we had to take her to the emergency room here. You could see all the way into her skull, which is amazingly white. Very, very white.

Anyway, because it was so deep they brought in some guy from plastic surgery. mrs. myboynoah, a nurse, couldn't get over the pack of cigarettes in his front pocket and the open sandals over his bare feet. He did a good job, though.

This was at Keio University Hospital.

[Uncle Ted]

No, our health care system should be modeled after Singapore's:

Singapore's Life expectancy: 82 years
Singapore's Infant mortality rate: 2.3 deaths per 1,000
Singapore's Health costs as a percent of GDP: 3.7

Singapore’s system requires individuals to take responsibility for their own health, and for much of their own spending on medical care. As the Health Ministry puts it, “Patients are expected to co-pay part of their medical expenses and to pay more when they demand a higher level of service. At the same time, government subsidies help to keep basic healthcare affordable.”

The reason the system works so well is that it puts decisions in the hands of patients and doctors rather than of government bureaucrats and insurers. The state’s role is to provide a safety net for the few people unable to save enough to pay their way, to subsidize public hospitals, and to fund preventative health campaigns.

[mUUser]

I'm happy to hear things turned out well, Tim.

I use the kidney stone test. I've had the experience in three countries: Japan, the U.S., and France.

In Japan they were very passive in treatment, preferring to wait and see if I passed it on my own. They seemed content to allow me to writhe in pain for weeks in hopes that the situation would resolve itself naturally. Plus they gave me suppository pain killers. Suppositories, Tim!!!

In the U.S., they had a plan and all the latest and greatest gadgets to aggressively resolve the problem. Plus they gave me some say in my treatment. Wham, bam, thank you ma'am, problem solved, go home and recover.

In France, they were fairly aggressive in treatment like the U.S., but the equipment was a few generations older than that in the U.S. Plus they kept me catheterized for a full 24 hours after the procedure. Also, stent removal a few days later was most uncomfortable. But France had a miracle oral anti-inflamatory that made life a breeze prior to removal. Absolutely pain free. Of course, this may not have been very representative since it was all done at a private hospital.

I prefer the U.S. approach with the French anti-inflamatories. The Japanese can stick their suppository pain killers . . . well, you know.

You haven't lived till you've had a kidney stone. Unfrickenbelievable.

[falafel]

My wife spent her first 15 of her first 18 years of life within the Japanese health system. She had severe asthma as a child and was in and out of the hospital for weeks at a time. She's still alive, so that's good.

She would tell me stories of when the doctors would go home at night and the med students would takeover for the graveyard shift. They would bring their text books so they could look up a patient's conditions and try to make proper diagnoses. Talk about on-the-job training.

[Hallelujah]

My wife spent her first 15 of her first 18 years of life within the Japanese health system. She had severe asthma as a child and was in and out of the hospital for weeks at a time. She's still alive, so that's good.

She would tell me stories of when the doctors would go home at night and the med students would takeover for the graveyard shift. They would bring their text books so they could look up a patient's conditions and try to make proper diagnoses. Talk about on-the-job training.

Yep. Take it from Tim, Japanese healthcare is fantastic! We should model ours after theirs. AFter all they make good TV's and electronics. Medical devices.........not so much.

Tim what technology have the Japanese brought into the healthcare community? Any new devices that are earth shattering. Or is the US still leading in that area as well?

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Hey Tim, sounds like a great idea! lol.

[wuapinmon]

For CUF's Japanese speakers, if my kids want to send a large banner that they draw on butcher paper to a friend of ours who moved back to Japan in 2015, could you please verify that we're not saying something incorrect in written Japanese?

They want to say, "We miss you very much, Kosei."

私たちはあなたをとても恋しく思っています。

TIA