Doctors and Hospitals
So after the whirlwind of today, I've decided to talk about the doctors and hospitals of Japan! And by whirlwind I mean slow but very persistent breeze.
Over this last weekend, Ben started feeling ill. Mostly, pain is his abdomen. It intensified in the evening, so I tried to figure out what to do. One of my JTEs suggested going to a special hospital that is open in the evenings, on weekends, and on holidays. But in order to get there, we would have had to call an ambulance since the people I normally contact for assistance were out of town. Any of that stuff sounded way too expensive for me (being accustomed to the American health care system). So instead I went to the pharmacy, attempted to talk to the pharmacist, and got some kind of pain killer medicine for the stomach. I think they told me it was a type of anesthetic...at least I hope that's what it was. Anyway, it took the pain away, but when the pills wore off, the pain came back, sometimes worse.
Skip to Monday. I told Ben to go see a doctor. He went to a local clinic where the doctor actually speaks passable English so he didn't need my help or anything. Because the clinic is local, the doctor had maybe twelve patients in his waiting room, and Ben didn't need an appointment to see him. The doctor was very nice (according to Ben) even if he wasn't super gentle as he poked and prodded Ben's stomach. After waiting for a little over an hour and about 10 minutes with the doctor, Ben had a diagnosis of a colon infection and three prescription medicines. The clinic had it's own pharmacy, so Ben picked up his medicine right there and was on his way. The total cost? Less than $20.
And now to Tuesday! Ben had forgotten to ask the doctor at the clinic if he could keep taking the pain medicine, so on Tuesday I asked one of the English teachers at my school to contact the doctor for me and ask. Turns out those pain drugs weren't really for what Ben had, so he wasn't supposed to take them. Problem was, Ben was still in a lot of pain, and he hadn't improved since the day before (though honestly I didn't expect the drugs to work THAT fast). After speaking with the doctor, it was suggested that Ben go to the hospital for a more thorough examination. This did not thrill either of us, as we both knew how much visiting a hospital in the states would have cost. But Ben was in pain, and this was important, so one of the English teachers was very nice and accompanied us both to the hospital, and continued to act as our translator throughout the day.
The hospital had open clinic hours until 11:30, so as long as we got there before then, we would be seen without an appointment. Anyway, we went into the hospital, produced the health insurance card at the front desk, took a number, and waited in the sitting room. When our number was called, we went up and Ben's medical file was finished being created. They then told us to wait down the hall near one of the doors that had a #3 on it. Now this area was still kinda part of that main sitting area. Along the back wall were doors for various doctors, and then a hallway continued further with more doors and more benches for patients. During more waiting, Ben got his blood pressure and temperature taken, again all in that hallway attached to the main sitting room. Finally we saw the doctor. We went into one of those rooms at the back of the sitting area, and the doctor poked and prodded Ben. In the end he thought it was the same diagnosis as the local clinic doctor, but they wanted to do a blood test and a CT scan. Now I normally would say no way to a CT scan. Those things cost so much in America, like thousands of dollars. But we had faith that our insurance would dull the blow, and we wanted to make sure Ben wasn't going to explode or something else horrible. So we agreed.
More waiting! Still in that sitting area, until Ben was called for a blood draw. Apparently the nurse couldn't find the vein in his arm and had to take blood from the back of his hand. That done, we continued out of this area of the hospital and followed a helpful yellow line on the floor to the room where they do the CT scans, and MRIs. We handed in the medical form, and continued to the CT area. A little more waiting happened as the CT machine was in use, but then Ben got his turn. After that we returned to the sitting area and...waited. The blood test was set to take about 20 minutes to complete, but then when it was done the nurse said the doctor we had been seeing had been called off for emergency surgery. So we waited some more. Finally the doctor came back, said Ben's tests confirmed the diagnosis but that it wasn't at a dangerous state. He prescribed some pain medication, and told him to keep taking the medicine he had already gotten. Everything should clear up in about a week. Big relief there, as if it had been worse they'd have wanted him to stay at the hospital.
Here is what I have learned about Japanese hospitals. The atmosphere is totally different. Whereas hospitals in America are stark white and smell of antiseptic, this Japanese hospital was not as well maintained. Paint was chipping off the walls and doors, the floor was badly scuffed, etc. It wasn't unsanitary by any means, you could just tell that any money that went into the hospital was not spent on keeping it pretty. Now some people don't like the feel of American hospitals, but I think I'd have preferred that clean sterile feeling. In part due to my panic over what was wrong with my husband. Despite that, all of the staff was very nice and helpful. Even the ones that got all flustered because Ben couldn't understand Japanese when they tried to talk to him without the English teacher present.
Also, at the end of his visit, he was given a medical card. It's a hard plastic card specifically for this hospital, so the next time he goes to that hospital, he can just show that card and they'll bring up his file, and he won't have to wait as long to get into a doctor...depending on how busy they are. On that note, the hospital was VERY busy. Mostly with older people. Turns out once you hit a certain age in Japan, your insurance changes and you only have to pay 10% of your medical expenses, so I definitely don't blame them for taking advantage of that. My insurance, which is basically the same as the national health insurance that everyone should have in Japan, covers 70% of my medical expenses, and so does Ben's. There are no deductibles or anything, so it all kicks in right away, which is great.
My other big take away is this: You don't know how much of a language you don't know until you go to a doctor.
Oh, and the final bill for Ben's hospital expenses. We were pretty worried about that, no doubt. But with the blood test, CT scan, and pain medication, we only paid a total of $75. It was amazing. I love this health care system.
Over this last weekend, Ben started feeling ill. Mostly, pain is his abdomen. It intensified in the evening, so I tried to figure out what to do. One of my JTEs suggested going to a special hospital that is open in the evenings, on weekends, and on holidays. But in order to get there, we would have had to call an ambulance since the people I normally contact for assistance were out of town. Any of that stuff sounded way too expensive for me (being accustomed to the American health care system). So instead I went to the pharmacy, attempted to talk to the pharmacist, and got some kind of pain killer medicine for the stomach. I think they told me it was a type of anesthetic...at least I hope that's what it was. Anyway, it took the pain away, but when the pills wore off, the pain came back, sometimes worse.
Skip to Monday. I told Ben to go see a doctor. He went to a local clinic where the doctor actually speaks passable English so he didn't need my help or anything. Because the clinic is local, the doctor had maybe twelve patients in his waiting room, and Ben didn't need an appointment to see him. The doctor was very nice (according to Ben) even if he wasn't super gentle as he poked and prodded Ben's stomach. After waiting for a little over an hour and about 10 minutes with the doctor, Ben had a diagnosis of a colon infection and three prescription medicines. The clinic had it's own pharmacy, so Ben picked up his medicine right there and was on his way. The total cost? Less than $20.
And now to Tuesday! Ben had forgotten to ask the doctor at the clinic if he could keep taking the pain medicine, so on Tuesday I asked one of the English teachers at my school to contact the doctor for me and ask. Turns out those pain drugs weren't really for what Ben had, so he wasn't supposed to take them. Problem was, Ben was still in a lot of pain, and he hadn't improved since the day before (though honestly I didn't expect the drugs to work THAT fast). After speaking with the doctor, it was suggested that Ben go to the hospital for a more thorough examination. This did not thrill either of us, as we both knew how much visiting a hospital in the states would have cost. But Ben was in pain, and this was important, so one of the English teachers was very nice and accompanied us both to the hospital, and continued to act as our translator throughout the day.
The hospital had open clinic hours until 11:30, so as long as we got there before then, we would be seen without an appointment. Anyway, we went into the hospital, produced the health insurance card at the front desk, took a number, and waited in the sitting room. When our number was called, we went up and Ben's medical file was finished being created. They then told us to wait down the hall near one of the doors that had a #3 on it. Now this area was still kinda part of that main sitting area. Along the back wall were doors for various doctors, and then a hallway continued further with more doors and more benches for patients. During more waiting, Ben got his blood pressure and temperature taken, again all in that hallway attached to the main sitting room. Finally we saw the doctor. We went into one of those rooms at the back of the sitting area, and the doctor poked and prodded Ben. In the end he thought it was the same diagnosis as the local clinic doctor, but they wanted to do a blood test and a CT scan. Now I normally would say no way to a CT scan. Those things cost so much in America, like thousands of dollars. But we had faith that our insurance would dull the blow, and we wanted to make sure Ben wasn't going to explode or something else horrible. So we agreed.
More waiting! Still in that sitting area, until Ben was called for a blood draw. Apparently the nurse couldn't find the vein in his arm and had to take blood from the back of his hand. That done, we continued out of this area of the hospital and followed a helpful yellow line on the floor to the room where they do the CT scans, and MRIs. We handed in the medical form, and continued to the CT area. A little more waiting happened as the CT machine was in use, but then Ben got his turn. After that we returned to the sitting area and...waited. The blood test was set to take about 20 minutes to complete, but then when it was done the nurse said the doctor we had been seeing had been called off for emergency surgery. So we waited some more. Finally the doctor came back, said Ben's tests confirmed the diagnosis but that it wasn't at a dangerous state. He prescribed some pain medication, and told him to keep taking the medicine he had already gotten. Everything should clear up in about a week. Big relief there, as if it had been worse they'd have wanted him to stay at the hospital.
Here is what I have learned about Japanese hospitals. The atmosphere is totally different. Whereas hospitals in America are stark white and smell of antiseptic, this Japanese hospital was not as well maintained. Paint was chipping off the walls and doors, the floor was badly scuffed, etc. It wasn't unsanitary by any means, you could just tell that any money that went into the hospital was not spent on keeping it pretty. Now some people don't like the feel of American hospitals, but I think I'd have preferred that clean sterile feeling. In part due to my panic over what was wrong with my husband. Despite that, all of the staff was very nice and helpful. Even the ones that got all flustered because Ben couldn't understand Japanese when they tried to talk to him without the English teacher present.
Also, at the end of his visit, he was given a medical card. It's a hard plastic card specifically for this hospital, so the next time he goes to that hospital, he can just show that card and they'll bring up his file, and he won't have to wait as long to get into a doctor...depending on how busy they are. On that note, the hospital was VERY busy. Mostly with older people. Turns out once you hit a certain age in Japan, your insurance changes and you only have to pay 10% of your medical expenses, so I definitely don't blame them for taking advantage of that. My insurance, which is basically the same as the national health insurance that everyone should have in Japan, covers 70% of my medical expenses, and so does Ben's. There are no deductibles or anything, so it all kicks in right away, which is great.
My other big take away is this: You don't know how much of a language you don't know until you go to a doctor.
Oh, and the final bill for Ben's hospital expenses. We were pretty worried about that, no doubt. But with the blood test, CT scan, and pain medication, we only paid a total of $75. It was amazing. I love this health care system.
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