After my first couple of hours in a Japanese hospital, I started to feel like I was in prison — a prison where everyone was friendly and polite and always said “please” when they gave you an order, but a prison nonetheless.
There were many rules, but after a couple of weeks, I got used to them and the environment and even started enjoying my stay. In the end, I was in the hospital for 18 days.
This seemed far too long and even slightly unnecessary, but Japanese hospitals tend to err on the side of caution and keep people in until they are absolutely sure they are OK. You can ask to leave earlier if you really want to.
In this article, I’ll explain what being in a Japanese hospital is like and a few things you should know before being admitted as an inpatient.
Health Insurance
Under normal circumstances, adults are liable for 30% of the cost of medical treatment if they’re covered under national health insurance. However, there is a monthly cap applied to significant medical expenses based on your income. If your medical expenses go over the monthly cap, you don’t have to pay any more than that.
Your expense cap can be checked on the Ministry of Health, Labour & Welfare website (page 4—Japanese).
This is called the kogaku ryoyohi seido, or High-Cost Medical Expense Benefit, and it is a key element to prevent financial hardship from medical bills. For example, my treatment cost over ¥2.5 million, but thanks to the benefit, I was only charged ¥85,000. This amount includes medical expenses and a stay in a normal (communal) ward. It does not include food, the cost of a double or private room, or additional fees.
Keep in mind that you need to apply for this benefit yourself — ideally before checking into the hospital. If you do so, your hospital bill will be limited to the amount under the monthly cap. You can apply for this through your local city hall (if you are on basic national health insurance) or through your employer (if you are on employee insurance).
Hospital Rules and Environment
Hospitals can be pretty strict. After all, they are institutions that are trying to balance the interests of all patients and staff. Every hospital will be different, but my hospital’s schedule looks like this:
- 6 a.m.: Nurses do morning rounds
- 7 a.m.: Breakfast
- Noon: Lunch
- 6 p.m.: Dinner
- 9 p.m.: Lights out
I haven’t gone to sleep at 9 p.m. since middle school!
Rooms are never completely dark due to emergency lighting, and nurses come around every couple of hours during the night to check on patients. Combined with the slightly too short bed and the hard mattress, I didn’t really sleep properly the whole time I was in the hospital. You might want to bring earplugs and a sleep mask with you.
Patients in standard six- or four-patient rooms or twin rooms were allowed to shower three times a week, either Monday, Wednesday, and Friday or Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. This was a shock, as I usually shower at least twice a day, morning and night. Most hospitals have private rooms with showers, but you’ll need to pay more, and those rooms are not covered by national health insurance.
Each patient had a small TV, a fridge and some drawers to store belongings.
Hospital food
Click here to read more.
- External Link
- https://gaijinpot.com/
3 Comments
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Mocheake
I have been hospitalized in Japan 3 times. Each time was for more than a week but less than 2 months Overall, outside of one uncaring nurse, whom I referred to as Nurse Ratched, the stays were very pleasant. The main things for me were having health insurance, which actually paid for a small part of my treatment in another country(!) and having a private room, which was a bit costly but made a whole lot of difference. The food was pretty bland and there was rice with every meal, but I was allowed outside food so friends and family brought some of my favorite dishes. There was also a convenience store at one of the hospitals and I visited it regularly. I had my computer and a decent view from my window, which may not seem like much but that window helped immensely with the feelings of boredom and isolation. Being able to converse in Japanese is another plus as it helps to build rapport with the doctors and nurses. You'll learn lots of medical terminology which is useful. I think the only negative experience was meeting the aforementioned nurse.
garypen
That is a very important thing for people to know. I've been hospitalized twice here - once for an infection, and once for sciatica. Both times I requested to leave earlier than they suggested, which was definitely much longer than necessary. (They hospitalize people for a lot of stuff that would be outpatient in the US. And, for longer periods for stuff that is inpatient there.)
OTOH, it's wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy cheaper. The full bill was less than my co-pay would have been in the US. So, it's definitely worth it to pay for a private room. It's quiet. And, you can go to sleep when you want. (Insurance covers the standard room fee, so you only pay a surcharge.)
If you don't speak Japanese well, make sure to bring your phone, and use the Google Translate app. It's super helpful. I also used my phone as a wifi hotspot for my tablet, as that hospital didn't have wifi, which was weird. (If you're in a shared room/ward, make sure to use headphones/earphones/earbuds to avoid annoying the other patients.)
Depending on your hospital, the food will probably not be very good, as mentioned in the article. So, you'll want your visitors to bring you some tasty food and drinks. You'll hopefully have a mini-fridge at your bedside to keep that stuff. (My little neighborhood hospital has them. But, yours may not.)
Also, if you don't wanna bring stuff from home, you can pay a little extra to rent pajamas and towels, which are replaced with clean ones every other day, IIRC.
wallace
I had two hospital stays. One for about a week after appendectomy op. I stayed in a four-patient ward. The experience was good and I had no problems or complaints.
The second one was more serious. I had a cancer op. I booked a private room with a kitchen and bathroom. My wife was able to stay with me for the seven days I was there. I had excellent care and attention and I was very impressed with my treatment.
Even the final cost was very reasonable especially when compared with the US. I paid $1,500 and my New York bros tell me it would have cost $10,000 minimum. For five years I have had post-cancer treatment visiting my local hospital every three months.
For my meals, I had a dietician who visited me daily to decide what I should eat. There was a Lawson and my wife bought her food from there. it all worked out cheaper than her staying in a hotel.
More than 20 doctors were involved with my case across three hospitals. I have nothing but praise for all of them.