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Trends in health and welfare administration
Amidst changes in the national disease structure (e.g. graying population and the increase in chronic diseases), Japan is now promoting measures that actively enhance national health and place the focus on "primary prevention" of diseases.
Ministr y of Health, Labor and Welfare, which oversees the nation's public health and medical care, has been promoting the "Kenko Nihon 21 (People's Health Promotion Campaign for the 21st Century)" since 2000. The Health Promotion Law was also enacted in July 20 02 as the legal foundation for mak ing a nationwide promotion of he alth development and disease prevention.
Amidst these moves, there has been a call for reforming the mechanism of medical treatments and the system for providing medical care. The medical community is addressing emerging challenges, such as improving the rehabilitation environment, proliferating in-home medical care, arranging palliative care and notification in treating terminal patients, disclosing information to patients and their families, and coordinating with social welfare services.
 |
Number of establishments | Number of beds | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitals *1 | 9,077 | 1,631,553 | |
| Clinics *1 | 97,051 | 181,001 | |
|
With beds | 14,765 | |
|
Without beds | 82,286 | |
| Long-term care facilities for senior citizens *2 | 3,131 | ||
| Visiting nurse stations *2 | 5,224 | ||
- *1
- "Survey of Medical Care Institution 2004" by Statistics and Information Department, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
- *2
- "Survey on Institutions and Establishments for Long-term Care 2004" by Statistics and Information Department, Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
Total health insurance coverage and medical remunerations
The biggest feature of Japanese medical care system is the total health insurance coverage for the entire population. Under the system, all citizens subscribe to the public health insurance system, and pay a fixed premium (medical levy), so that they can receive medical services with minimum burden. The system has been maintained without interruption since its establishment in 1961.
With the entire population covered, the majority of services by medical institutions are provided under the health insurance system. "Medical remunerations" represent the level of remunerations paid to medical institutions as the cost of providing individual ser vices. Specific remunerations are defined in detail for each of the individual medical procedures.
The medical remuneration system works on the principle of paying medical institutions for the services and pharmaceutical items provided per patient. Basic nursing services are charged as part of the basic hospitalization fee for patients. Points are awarded according to various factors including the number of nurses assigned and the duration of hospitalization.
Kofu Municipal Hospital
Japanese system for providing public health services
In Japan, the public health system has been developed so that individual citizens can access consistent services for disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment, etc. in their respective communities throughout their lifecycles.
Public health nurses, registered nurses and midwives are engaged at the frontline of all such services, undertaking operations that utilize their specialized knowledge.
[ Public health services for different lifestage ] (examples)
