Japanese unhappy with health care

[canman]

According to this report, only 15 percent of Japanese are happy with their health care. But I think the big difference is they are concerned about the level of care they can get. Sure you can walk into a hospital and see a doctor, but I sometimes really doubt the skills of a lot of doctors in this country. Not saying they are all bad, but there do seem to be a lot of quacks working here that wouldn't be allowed to practice in the west. One example, a few years ago I ripped my calf muscle all to hell. Couldn't walk on it or anything. Went to the ER, the young dude, sunburned from a round of golf no doubt, x-rayed it and told me to go home and rest. Nothing else. The next day I went to an orthopedic surgeon, who casted it for 4 weeks and then put me in intensive therapy! WTF
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/15/sweden-canada-outrank-us_n_539310.html

[Bucky]

Canman, I think the emergency docs are sometimes not the best. I remember going into St. Lukes Hospital (Tsukiji) one night with a horrible cold. The guy gave me some meds that made me sweat like I was in a sauna. I guess he thought that'd fix me. I went back the next day and the specialist I saw diagnosed pneumonia and put me on antibiotics.

[Coligny]

Once again... you want good doctors... go to Korea...

[canman]

Once again... you want good doctors... go to Korea...

Are you being facetious or not? I've never heard anything about Korean doctors. But I have heard of Thai and Indian hospitals being very good, with many western trained mds.

[waruta]

Canman, I think the emergency docs are sometimes not the best. I remember going into St. Lukes Hospital (Tsukiji) one night with a horrible cold. The guy gave me some meds that made me sweat like I was in a sauna. I guess he thought that'd fix me. I went back the next day and the specialist I saw diagnosed pneumonia and put me on antibiotics.

Most Emergency doctors are still young'uns trying out their skill on any poor bastard that decides to walk into their ER. I had to have a cyst removed once that was buried waay deep in my back and the only reason why I went to the ER is cause on the flight back here, it got infected and was painful as hell. The young doc proceeded to use a large spoon and minimal painkillers...

I had to go back the next day and there was a surgeon present who promptly shot me full of morphine, widened the cut, excised the wound and sewed it all back up in under 30 mins. No more problems. Best case, go to a large hospital where there is at least one surgeon on call at all times....

[AssKissinger]

I received much better health care in Japan and Korea than in the United States which I believe has the worst health care in the world including Africa. It was amazing for me when I first went to the doctor overseas and enjoyed competent health care providers instead of just insanely overpriced, inaccessible quackery. For example, in America, they expect you to spend the night hooked up to a machine before they'll give you an overpriced sleeping pill that they spend hundreds of millions of dollars advertising for on TV. If I had gone through some of the same shit in America that I went through in Japan I would be dead.

[sublight]

So far my only really bad experience has been at the 'foreigner clinics'. Specifically the Tokyo Medical in front of Tokyo Tower, although the incompetent dipshit who misdiagnosed my cancer for nearly a year is now at Azabu Clinic.

[AssKissinger]

misdiagnosed my cancer

damn...

[Coligny]

Are you being facetious or not? I've never heard anything about Korean doctors. But I have heard of Thai and Indian hospitals being very good, with many western trained mds.

For the good Koreans:
Anecdotal experience after a quite bad food poisonning in Korea... had to follow with the group... went to 3 different hospital in a week... every time the experience was extremly... let say... positive... With coherent diagnostic between the hospitals. Me wife was on her side impressed by the efficiency of the nurses... would not have minded taking some back for her team...

Return home... Last check following dadinlaw orders... went to the shimin biyoinn... wait 2 hours... 3 minutes of talk with a guy that didn't really care... was sent home with some lopemid pills...

For the bad Japanese:
Every fracking day at dinertime... There's now even a new categoy of screw ups that she avoid talking aboot with her father to avoid having him go ballistic on the ass of the hospital director. (dad is former doctor in charge of investigation for malpractice in liaison with them cops)

[Behan]

For the bad Japanese:
Every fracking day at dinertime... There's now even a new categoy of screw ups that she avoid talking aboot with her father to avoid having him go ballistic on the ass of the hospital director. (dad is former doctor in charge of investigation for malpractice in liaison with them cops)

My Mrs. is a nurse and she sometimes tells me about screw-ups at her hospital that sound like malpractice. Some of the doctors sound horrible.

[canman]

AK, I guess as an American citizen, you were impressed with the amount of care you could receive here in Japan. I think the issue is the quality of the care. Even compared to Canada, which I think has a much better system than the US, in Japan you can almost get an MRI instantly, or CT etc. I hardly ever hear of people having to wait for care here. But I still am doubtful that the people caring for you are the best in their field. I still think that western trained doctors are better. I could be wrong, but just feel that the training that doctors get back home is better than here.

[Behan]

One thing that struck me about doctors here is that so many seem to own their own, independent clinics or hospitals. If they made a mistake no other doctors might notice it. Back in the US, many GPs (=naika?) work in or have small clinics but they also spend time in larger hospitals where the quality of their work is likely to be noticed.
But at least many or most Japanese people can afford health care, unlike tens of millions of Amerians.

[Coligny]

One thing that struck me about doctors here is that so many seem to own their own, independent clinics or hospitals. If they made a mistake no other doctors might notice it. Back in the US, many GPs (=naika?) work in or have small clinics but they also spend time in larger hospitals where the quality of their work is likely to be noticed.
But at least many or most Japanese people can afford health care, unlike tens of millions of Amerians.

Well... yes and no... first it's always a 2 doctors team for operation. Second for vacation and weekends doctors from university hospital come on paid duty to do the wingman (and see the skills of the locals). It's actually... insanely fuckingly awesomely paid... we're talking about 50 man per week end (48h, from sat morning to monday 8am) mainly watching TV waiting for stuff to happen...

Also those private clinics only handles "everything is fine" case... the kind of delivery that were happily happening at home few years ago. Back in the days where having kids was considered natural process and not a highly medicalised operation constantly trying to give the finger to Darwin, "see what we do with your survival of the fittest theory nIn (<- that's an ASCII middle finger)".

As soon as something get twisty a maternal transfer to the nearest public hospital is done... So they also can see the skills of the clinic, some reckless wait for the last minute to order the transfer... even if they know the case is dangerous... and there's a fracking typhoon starting to pound on the city (that's how I got to drive at 2am in the middle of said typhoon that wrecked containers on the harbour like empty cardboard boxes and send few trucks from the toyogawa bridge in the water to bring my wife who was called back to handle the patient... who could have make it... if the blood didn't took 6 hours to make a 30 minutes journey)

[Samurai_Jerk]

I received much better health care in Japan and Korea than in the United States which I believe has the worst health care in the world including Africa. It was amazing for me when I first went to the doctor overseas and enjoyed competent health care providers instead of just insanely overpriced, inaccessible quackery. For example, in America, they expect you to spend the night hooked up to a machine before they'll give you an overpriced sleeping pill that they spend hundreds of millions of dollars advertising for on TV. If I had gone through some of the same shit in America that I went through in Japan I would be dead.

You're out of your fucking mind. Japanese doctors are shit.

[james]

doctors are fucking useless

[Yokohammer]

doctors are fucking useless

... until one saves your life.

[james]

... until one saves your life.

the beneficiary of my life insurance policies may beg to differ point conceded, though.

[sublight]

damn...

...I got better.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

I have nothing but praise for the medical care I've received in Japan. GPs, surgeons, specialists, nurses, everyone has been brilliant.

[canman]

I have nothing but praise for the medical care I've received in Japan. GPs, surgeons, specialists, nurses, everyone has been brilliant.

Listen I don't want to slag the whole profession, and good for you that you have recieved excellent care. But on the whole I feel it is not up to par with western medicine. Now I could be wrong, but I was told that medical students don't even touch patients until they have completed their initial 4 year dgree. Then they get to do some very basic diagnosis.
I had knee surgery that went very well, no complaints, the stay was perhaps a bit long, but good none-the-less. I do have a horror story about a young doctor trying to put a stupid IV line into me before the operation, and almost killing me. He couldn't find the vein, and thought that the best way was just to force it in a push as hard as he could. He kept making this comment, " Canadian veins are hard, haha". My blood pressure dropped and I thought I was going to faint. This nurse walked over and boom, it was in without even a pinch.

[Mike Oxlong]

I had knee surgery that went very well, no complaints, the stay was perhaps a bit long, but good none-the-less. I do have a horror story about a young doctor trying to put a stupid IV line into me before the operation, and almost killing me. He couldn't find the vein, and thought that the best way was just to force it in a push as hard as he could. He kept making this comment, " Canadian veins are hard, haha". My blood pressure dropped and I thought I was going to faint. This nurse walked over and boom, it was in without even a pinch.

Canadian blue-veiners are hard...medical fact. Where did this guy have his hands?!

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

This nurse walked over and boom, it was in without even a pinch.

I've known a few nurses like that, too. I've usually ended up pinching them a couple of times, though...

[FG Lurker]

I've known a few nurses like that, too. I've usually ended up pinching them a couple of times, though...

I knew one nurse like that -- real screamer too.

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

I knew one nurse like that -- real screamer too.

Lucky you...I wish I had a hypodermic big enough to make 'em scream....

[unkosando]

Japanese doctors are pussies. Everytime I needed an antibiotic my doctor would prescribe the weakest dose possible. I would have to go back to him after a week and tell him I was still sick. Finally, he would give the proper dosage and the burning sensation would go away.

[Ketou]

Japanese doctors are pussies. Everytime I needed an antibiotic my doctor would prescribe the weakest dose possible. I would have to go back to him after a week and tell him I was still sick. Finally, he would give the proper dosage and the burning sensation would go away.

Probably something to do with the local difference in volume/area of infection.