About Diseases and Hospitals -About Hospitals- From an Uzbekistani, Nepali and Italian Perspective

The first time I went to the hospital was when I was 7 years old. I had a stomach ache, so my father found the closest clinic to our house. The hospital employees did not speak English or even plain Japanese, so my father used a dictionary to explain things in Japanese. The doctors did their best to listen to him.

When I first came to Japan, my Japanese was not very good, so I went to a local clinic that was suggested to me by a friend. The nurses spoke plain Japanese and asked me about my symptoms. At that time, I had been sick for a while and had a fever, so I told the nurses that I had a cold and a fever (in English). The doctor examined me using both English and Japanese and also gave me a prescription for medicine.

I have only been to a hospital for a company health checkup, but I recently went to a clinic. I injured my muscles during muscle training. I did a search with (keywords such as) "sore muscles" and went to a clinic that I found on the Internet. I was able to explain the symptoms, so they gave me an injection and it healed.

I felt that Japanese hospitals are a little different from those in Nepal. In Japan, you fill out a medical questionnaire at the beginning, but in Nepal, there is no medical questionnaire. Instead, the doctor asks you about your symptoms while having a conversation with you.
In the questionnaire, you write about your symptoms, illness, family, and everything else. I wondered if it was that necessary. The questionnaire was only in Japanese, so I could not read it very well. The nurses and receptionists helped me write it down.

I filled out the medical questionnaire too. I noticed that there are many hospitals and small clinics in Japan. In Italy, there are large hospitals and not many small clinics.

I agree with Mauri. I have the impression that clinics in Japan are very small. In Uzbekistan, there is not so much family doctors in small clinics. You go directly to a large hospital.

There are many clinics in Nepal, just like in Japan. There are many specialized clinics, and most of them have one or two exam rooms. They talk to you and make a diagnosis. Many clinics are not able to draw blood or perform tests, and if tests are needed, you will be referred to a different place.

I was nervous when I went to the hospital. Since I could not speak Japanese, I was worried that I would not be able to communicate properly about my illness. I was also worried because I didn't understand what the doctors were saying, and when they told me they were going to do tests, I didn't know what they were for. Now it's fine.

My concern is also whether I can communicate my symptoms at the hospital.

That's true. I think the biggest concerns are the language barrier and the fact that each country has a different medical system.

When neither my father nor I knew the name of a disease in Japanese, the doctor wrote it down in English and we looked it up on Google. Then we could find out what kind of disease it was. The doctor explained it to us using the simplest words possible.

If there was a word I didn't understand, I would ask them to write it down on a piece of paper and I would look it up later on Google. But the doctors were very clear in their explanations, so it was fine.

If the Japanese spoken by the doctor is difficult to understand, I ask him/her to speak in plain Japanese or, if possible, to explain only the disease in English. I am very grateful for the kindness of Japanese doctors. In Nepal, the position of doctors is very high, so doctors do not talk to us casually. I think this is a big difference between Nepali and Japanese doctors.

It's so much more convenient now that we can look things up on Google.

Yes, it really has become more convenient.

Yes, it really has become more convenient.

I think that language is a big problem for those who have just arrived in Japan. I think it could be a good idea to show them simple images on a tablet.

For foreigners, I think the main obstacle is the Japanese language. If possible, hospitals should have interpreters or translation apps that can help.

The hospital where my friend works has an interpreter service where she explains her illness and the interpreter will talk to the clinic staff. I heard that this service is very expensive because it is not covered by insurance. I think it would be nice if this service could be expanded and made accessible to everyone.

I am a medical interpreter at a hospital. Hospital systems differ from country to country, so it is very difficult for patients to understand this. For example, in Nepal, patients are often allowed to undergo tests and treatment at their own request, even if the doctor's decision is different. In Japan, most of the tests and treatments are done at the discretion of the doctor. The patient may want to have an examination, but the doctor may not, or the doctor may want the patient to have an examination, but the patient may not want to have an examination because his or her symptoms are not that severe. It is very difficult to get them to understand that.

What surprised me was the health insurance in Japan. There is no health insurance in Uzbekistan. Medicines are cheap to begin with, and medical care for children is free in Uzbekistan. Even if you don't pay premiums, it is free until the age of 18.

Nepal is the same, there is no insurance. Everyone in Nepal, regardless of age, has to pay for their own medical expenses. I think medical expenses are high. It is not easy to go to a hospital for a stomach ache or a cold. Pharmacists need to be qualified, so I almost always consult with a pharmacist about my illness and get medicine. I don't go to the hospital until it becomes really painful.

Italy also has no insurance, and instead, all medical care and medicine is free for those whose annual income is less than 4 million yen. It is not free for children though. The price goes up little by little according to the parents' annual income. Hospitals in Italy have long queues and long waits. People with low income go there because it is free, but they cannot be examined immediately because of the long queues.
In Japan, there is insurance, and hospitals and clinics are very smooth, so I think that is a good thing.

I would take the treatment in Japan.

I would also like to receive treatment and surgery in Japan. Nepal has no insurance, so it is financially difficult. I would like to return to my hometown and spend time with my family, but considering the difficulty of traveling back and forth between countries, I feel it would be safer to stay in Japan.

I would choose depending on the case. For example, in breast cancer surgery, I think there are different policies in different countries, such as whether to preserve or remove the breast. I would like to choose where to receive treatment depending on the disease.