![]() In all three schemes, benefits cover services such as hospitalization, outpatient visits, transportation costs for psychiatric treatments, prescription medications, home-visit nursing, and dental care.Ĭo-insurance rates for medical costs remain the same across all insurance schemes, and are designated, instead, depending on age and employment status. Enrollees are unable to select schemes themselves, so even though slight differences do exist between benefits, such as add-ons for disease prevention and health promotion, these differences do not influence enrollment. Regardless of which of the three public health insurance schemes in which one is enrolled, benefit packages essentially remain the same. It is possible, for example, for a surgeon to practice as an “Internist/Orthopedic Surgeon,” and it is not uncommon to see signs outside clinics that list multiple specialties. Moreover, if physicians have acquired medical licenses, they may exercise freedom by practicing in any specialties regardless of whether or not they hold specialized certifications. Physicians also have freedom of practice. According to guidelines, referral letters are required for outpatient visits at large hospitals however, in most cases, patients are free to see specialists at large hospitals as long as they are willing to pay additional fees of a few thousand yen. For example, a man working at a company in Tokyo can make an outpatient visit to a specialist at a university hospital near his office during his spare time and later that same weekend be seen by a physician at a clinic near his home in Kanagawa Prefecture. Patients are free to receive care from the provider of their choice. <Column>Free Access and Freedom of Practice In Japan, this system is referred to as a “Free Access System,” and according to Free Access, as long as residents hold proof of insurance, they may receive necessary medical services when sick or injured for a fixed contribution rate. Regardless of the health insurance scheme in which residents of Japan are enrolled, they are free to choose their own healthcare providers as well as their frequency of treatment. If an enrollee is neither the head of household nor eligible through his or her own employer, then the scheme is designated based on the head of household’s employment status, age, and residence. Rather than being freely selected by enrollees, public health insurance schemes are designated according to employment status, age, and residence. In 1961, as a result of government-led social welfare measures, Japan achieved universal health coverage (UHC).Ĭharacteristics of Japan’s UHC system are as follows:Įnrollment in public health insurance is compulsory, regardless of citizenship, for all those who have resided in Japan for three months or more. Japan’s constitution, established in May of 1947, clearly states that citizens have the right to health, and that the advancement and promotion of social welfare, social security, and public health are within the scope of government responsibilities. Global Health Update from Washington, D.C.Telemedicine in Japan – Current Changes and its Future –. ![]()
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