Hospital Situation
I wanted to book an appointment with my family doctor for my prescription the other day, but my doctor is fully booked for April. I could only get an appointment in May. It’s a pretty long process to get a prescription, as usual.
First, I need to get a requisition paper for my bloodwork and book a blood collection appointment with the hospital. This also takes almost a few weeks to book. Then, after having the bloodwork done, I need to wait for the doctor's phone call to book another appointment. If everything goes smoothly without any issues, I can finally get my prescription at the local drug store.
For other health issues, the process is quite similar. I always need to book an appointment with my family doctor at the clinic first before I can see a specialist. Usually, the doctor refers me immediately, but I still need to wait a few more months to meet the specialist.
After meeting the specialist, the doctor will schedule a medical exam or surgery with the hospital. The hospital will then call me to book the exam, but that can also take a few weeks or even a few months.
As you can see, it takes a long time to see each doctor and undergo exams. Almost every step of the process takes quite a while.
When I had an emergency, I needed to go to the ER. At that time, the ER was completely packed, and I waited around 6 hours to see a doctor. If you don’t have a family doctor, your only options are to go to a walk-in clinic or the ER.
When I moved to this province, I couldn’t find a family doctor easily. Almost all the doctors in town already had overflowing patient lists. I was so lucky to meet my family doctor, who used to work at a walk-in clinic. One day, when I visited another walk-in clinic while I was very sick, I coincidentally saw him working there. He remembered me and offered to take me and my husband as his clinic clients. It was such a lucky coincidence to bump into him. Ironically, if I hadn’t been sick, I would never have found my family doctor.
Many people still can’t find a family doctor, so I really appreciate my situation. I couldn’t get used to this type of medical system at first because it’s completely different from my home country. Here, medical services are free except for private clinics, dental care, mental health clinics, fertility clinics, and prescriptions. The main hospitals operate as public services.
In my home country, there are public and private hospitals, clinics, and dentists. Every hospital charges fees depending on coverage. Most people join the national health insurance, and patients usually pay 30% of the total cost.
There are many hospitals, clinics, and dentists in Japan, so you don’t need to wait for appointments like here. In some popular hospitals, it can be difficult to get an appointment, but you can usually find other options. People visit hospitals with a much more casual attitude compared to here. However, there are also many medical issues.
If I summarize the medical systems in the two countries:
Japan: Universal healthcare, patients pay 10-30%. Easy access to specialists, short wait times.
Canada: Universal healthcare, free at the point of care. Long wait times, need referrals for specialists.
Hmm... Why don’t we combine the two systems into one? I prefer universal healthcare with free medical services, easy access, and short wait times. Of course, we should pay taxes to maintain a healthy system, but there are still many issues to solve.
How about your country? What kind of medical system does it have, and what kind of system would you prefer?
Japanese 日本語
病院事情
先日、処方箋をもらう時期が近づいてきたので、かかりつけのお医者さん（ファミリードクター）の診察を予約しようと思いましたが、４月はもう満杯だと言われました。早くて５月だそうです。いつものことですが、処方箋をもらうまでのプロセスは果てしないです。
まずは、かかりつけのお医者さんから病院の血液検査要求書をもらいます。血液検査の予約までさらに数週間ほど待つこともあります。そして、血液検査が無事終わると、かかりつけのお医者さんから検査結果の電話を待ちます。その電話でまた診察日の予約を取ります。もし血液検査に特に問題がなければ、ラッキーであれば電話だけで解決することもあります。そして、地元のドラックストアに処方箋を受け取りに行きます。
他の健康問題に対しては、また同じような段階を踏む必要があります。まずはまたかかりつけのお医者さんに予約を取ります。そして診察日後に専門医へリファーしてもらいます。たいていすぐにリファーをしてもらえるのですが、ここから専門医に会うまでかなり待ちます。
ようやく専門医の診察を終えると、大きな病院と連携して検査や手術等の手配をしてくれます。病院から直接検査の予約日の連絡が来ますが、これにも数週間、下手をすると数ヶ月かかります。
おわかりのように、それぞれのお医者さんに会うまでに時間がかかりますし、検査までにも時間がかかります。ほぼすべての段階にかなりの時間を要します。
救急病院に行かなければなかった時もありました。その時の救急病院は逼迫していて、なんと６時間以上も待ちました。かかりつけのお医者さんがいない場合は、診療所（ウォークインクリニック）か救急病院に行くしかありません。
この州に越してきた頃、かかりつけのお医者さんがなかなか見つかりませんでした。ほとんどのお医者さんがすでに大勢の患者さんを抱えていて手一杯な状態でした。今のかかりつけのお医者さんとの初めの出会いは診療所でした。かかりつけのお医者さんがいない場合は予約なしで診療所に出向いてひたすら待つしかありません。
ある日、とても具合が悪くなり別の診療所に行きました。そこで、たまたま担当医だったのが今のかかりつけのお医者さんでした。先生は私のことを覚えていてくださって、たまたま待ちリストに空きがあるから自分のクリニックにくるかい？と私と主人に声をかけてくれました。皮肉なものですが、もしあの日私が具合が悪くならなければ、先生に会うことはなかったのです。もしかするといまだにかかりつけのお医者さんが見つからなかったかもしれません。
いまだにかかりつけのお医者さんが見つからずに困っている方がたくさんいますので、感謝しかないです。こういった医療システムの仕組みに慣れるまでかなり戸惑いました。日本の医療とはぜんぜん違うシステムです。カナダの医療サービスは無料ですが、私立のクリニック、歯科、メンタルヘルス系のクリニック、不妊治療クリニックなどは例外ですし、処方箋も実費です。メインの病院は公立です。
日本はほとんどの病院、クリニックや歯科が私立公立の両方がありますね。どこも保険適応範囲に応じて料金を請求します。ほとんどの人が保険証を持っていて患者さんは今のところ3割負担だと思います。
日本にはあらゆる病院やクリニック、歯科であふれかえっているように感じます。そんなに長い間予約待ちをしなくてもよいのではないでしょうか。でも、なかなか予約が取れない人気の病院もありますが、たいていどこかにはおさまるような気がします。カナダの病院に比べると、わりと気軽に病院へ行く気持ちになれるような気がします。しかし、日本も医療システムの問題はありますよね。
２つの国の医療システムを比べてすごく簡単にまとめると、
日本: ユニバーサルヘルスケア、患者は10～30％を負担。専門医へのアクセスが容易で、待ち時間が短い。
カナダ: ユニバーサルヘルスケア、受診時は無料。待ち時間が長く、専門医には紹介が必要。
うーん。どちらのシステムも混ぜ合わせてひとつになったような仕組みができないものでしょうか。医療費は無料で、アクセスが容易で、待ち時間が割と短い医療システムがいいです。もちろん、その分税金を払わなければならないとは思いますが、健康的なシステムであれば税金を払う価値があるように思います。そう簡単にはいかないのが現実なのでしょうか…。
みなさんの国はどうですか。現在はどんな医療システムで、どんなシステムが理想ですか？
Thank you for reading!
お読みいただきありがとうございます。
Free healthcare is definitely a nice incentive! But the accessibility and the wait times are not the best. Is it the lack of manpower? Or the lack of hospitals?
Japan is also not bad, but if you're not good at Japanese, you'll be left with a limited number of English-speaking facilities and those wait times are tough. One time I tried to reserve a check up in an English-speaking clinic, but I had to wait 1.5 months to get an appointment. I tried to reserve it but in the end, I didn't go because it seems my condition improved. But if it occurs again, I think I'll have to look for another clinic.
It depends on the province, but there are many issues with a lack of doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare services here. However, I always appreciate not having to wait to pay fees after treatment. I still feel guilty walking away without paying anything😄
As you mentioned, in Japan, there are definitely limited English-speaking doctors and facilities. In the Kanto region, I did find some options for English speakers based on my experience. I was lucky not to have to act as a translator between doctors and my partner, as the doctors spoke perfect English.
Sending you an Ecency curation vote!
Thank you!
Your posts are always great! Sorry I don't have more time to comment when I'm curating. I wonder if the health care situation varies from place to place. I have never heard a friend who lives in New Brunswick complain about Healthcare.
Thank you for your comment! I’m not sure about the situation in New Brunswick, but I’ve heard it's pretty similar to my province's conditions. Your friend is very patient!
As someone originally from Japan, I naturally compare the speeds 😝 However, I appreciate the free medical service for sure.
I do wish healthcare here was entirely socialized like in Canada. 30% may not seem like much, but it can be a lot sometimes! But yeah, I can see how having to make so many appointments and wait so long can be a big pain in the Canada system.
Yeah, having all kinds of free healthcare, including dentists, massage and acupuncture clinics, plus universal education and income would be wonderful for everyone around the world! Also, I really wish they would get rid of income tax. As you said, 30% is still a lot for people to pay. I know that the American medical system is also very expensive compared to Japan or Canada...