Word: japanism
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While the case is hardly typical, incidents like it have become all-too frequent as Japan's overburdened health care system grapples with the demands of an aging population. On average, Japanese hospitals deny care to one in six ambulatory call patients, according to the Fire and Disaster Management Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications]. And as the need for emergency transportation increases throughout the country, the cases only seem to be adding...
...case list is not pretty. In August 2007, a pregnant woman was refused admission by nine hospitals in a rural part of western Japan, even after miscarrying in the ambulance. In October 2008, another woman was denied by eight hospitals; she was eventually admitted, but three days after giving birth and undergoing surgery, she died. The following month, an 82-year old woman was refused by five hospitals in her hometown, and died en route to a hospital in another city. In 2007, the percentage of cases that require immediate medical attention within total emergency transportation for the year...
...population of Japan ages - with a peak expected in 2025 when the number of those aged 75 or older will reach 22 million, or about 19% of the projected total population, compared to 13 million today - the situation is not likely to improve anytime soon. The need for emergency transportation jumped 50% between 1996 and 2006, and 108% for the elderly. One solution, Kondo says, is to increase the number of doctors, which, given the fierce competition for medical school slots in Japan, will take time despite the fact that Japan has fewer doctors and nurses than the average developed...
...professionals - "to keep making calls in vain." Kondo agrees that allowing trained nurses and paramedics more freedom to act in emergency situations could help. "I'm pretty critical of the fact that doctors have such a monopoly over any kind of diagnosis and treatment," says Kondo. "In this regard, Japan needs to go in the U.S. route to developing more paramedics and develop more capacity, with expert nurses and open up the field...
...Minimizing unnecessary emergency calls could also help. So-called "light" and "medium" medical cases fielded by Japan's ambulance system increased by 56% and 58%, respectively, between 1996 and 2006. Last year, Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe urged communities to help to ease the burden on their hospitals and called for an increase in the number of trained doctors, but his plan has been criticized for lacking specific measures. Child care circles, such as those developed by communities in the Kansai area, are examples of how mothers educate each other on what qualifies as a medical emergency for their children...