667 pregnant women refused by 3 or more hospitals in 2006

Its because doctors are staying away from obstetrics. there is nothing in place to protect them from being sued if things go wrong, liable or not. there is a chronic shortage of qualified professionals in Japanese hospitals, its not the fault of the hospitals or doctors. Its Japanese society and law that is to blame.

 

You can't blame hospitals for turning away people when they are full and the person hasn'T registered nor been for a check up! If they were smart, they'd register, have a regualr doctor and do the prep that parents are supposed to do. It makes me wonder what lind of mothers these people turn into.

 

b/c it's one beasty number. But 667?
lack of obstetricians...may be the cause, but the report lacks more info (is this news).
I don't think anyone in any emergency situation should be refused professional help. End of story.

 

and what happens if a woman registers to a hospital in tokyo, then go on a trip in Osaka, and while on that trip she needs to go to the emergency ?!? she would be turned down as the other ! and she would have had register somewhere !!
registration is not all !
we talk about hospital, we talk about emergency... they should not be turned down, that is all !!

 

A heavily pregnant woman who decides to take a trip 3 months away from due date is acting unwisely. If you have the experience one day you will understand. Keep things tight and stay close to home for the last 2 - 3 months. A woman in her last term should be getting plenty of rest anyway, not taking stressful trips from Tokyo to Osaka. If they gamble and lose its their own fault.

 

It happens so often, yet if it happens to a foreigner - who did not contact any hospital or maternity clinic - it is somehow labeled as blatant racism by a large part of the JT public... Very strange.

 

a pregnant woman is not a ill woman ! normally, she can even take the airplane until the 8th month of pregnancy !
if we follow your way, we should not be doing anything "in case" something happens !! that is not a way to live !!
we are in japan, with hospital is all major cities... any pregnant woman should be able to travel safe !
and in previous article they mentioned women 3 month pregnant, or 6 month !
we are talking about emergency... not regular delivery !... of course a woman who is suppose to give birth within the month should stay in the area of her hospital !... that is not the point here !

 

What's interesting here is that doesn't seem to be any legal obligation for health service to provide a place in an hospital. In many countries, there is a national regulatory system (public or para-public) which manages this kind of situations and dispatch the patients to a suitable hospital when needed. If this was the case, these women would have been directed to an hospital while in the ambulance, and the centralized system would make sure nobody stays too long waiting.
I think there should be such a system in Japan, which would deal with difficult cases.
Like many parts of the japanese economy, health sector in Japan lacks standardization, but I heard there is a plan to create national standards which would apply to both public and private hospitals,

 

But seeing as this is Japan and you know the problems you take your chances. Not living? Sure a few hours in a car or walking around in a crowded, polluted city is every heavily pregnant womans dream. You understand the needs of expectant mothers well don't you.

by the way Whats with your exclamation marks? Is it compensation for not being able to deliver your point very well?

 

are you talking about Japanese hospitals? Common, wake up! This is business and whether you want to be a doctor or not, family business/ties make you to obligate to go to Mediacl School. Professionals...hahaha,,,,,,,

 

In many countries, there is a national regulatory system (public or para-public) which manages this kind of situations and dispatch the patients to a suitable hospital when needed. If this was the case, these women would have been directed to an hospital while in the ambulance, and the centralized system would make sure nobody stays too long waiting.
I totally agree with you, that shouldbe the norm anywhere in the world.

 

It's true I don't know much about the medical profession in Japan, but what kind of professional do you look for when in need? Just curious. Do you pull your own teeth, lol?

 

I think what needs to happen, is that hospitals, if they refuse to admit pregnant women, should have to pay the cost to the hospital that does accept her, and they have to pay an equal amount to the woman who was turned away. If this was put in place, I don't think this issue would ever come up again.

 

are reason for the decline in services according to recent NTV's Tokuso news show. There has been a sharp increase in hospital bankruptcies over the last 7 years with a peak in 2007, they are struggling with lower insurance reimbursement rates which puts an emphasis on co-pay collections...many co-pays go uncollected by patients who simply can't afford pricier medical care.

Preganancies, emergency room, and surgery patients were cited as the top offenders for non-payment according to Tokuso. One struggling hospital had the collections done by bicycle because the budget had been scaled back too the point where necessary equipment and staff were scarce. A man who was interviewed, lived in the danchi (public housing) and couldn't afford to pay for an operation last year, saying he had racked up consumer loans from pachinko losses. Although they won't admit officially, hospital staff have admitted in anonymous interviews to screening patients for risk, which includes their ability to pay or leave a deposit, before accepting them.

Unlike the US, Japan does not have "patient dumping" laws yet. While US hospitals in urban areas like LA were found to accept non-paying patients only to later dump them off on the streets of Skid Row untreated, have yet to hear reports in Japan of this practice.

 

These data should be made known to every pregnant woman so that she can prepare for the situation and register at a hospital to go for sure.Although she is not ill, she has to care for her baby. The tendency today to put all responsibilities on the experts (hospitals,schools,etc) makes it easy for parents to take their role too light. Do not give too much control to the sensei! Take the initiative in your own hands as much as you can.