Ocean11 0 Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 My muvver-in-law used to be a nurse, and practically everything in her house and garden is a gift from someone, even her dog. Several years after retiring, she's still getting stuff from all sorts of people. The last thing I heard of was a 4-ring electric cooker which is worth over 200,000 yen. I think there's more to it than bribery - gratitude plays a big part too. The Red Cross hospitals I've been to in Japan recently have signs up saying "Don't give the staff presents - we pay them salaries". I've noticed that many Japanese doctors are quick to hit on by far the most horrible diagnosis out of the available selection and run lots of time-consuming tests for it, without asking the patient the sort of questions that might eliminate 'necrosis of the hip', 'infected gall stone', 'cancer of the knob' or whatever it is they pick. Link to post Share on other sites
Siren 0 Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 From what I know the 'gift' to the doctor is 'expected' if you want a proper treatment. Now if you are a heart patient do you want to take your chance by not paying your due? And yes the Japanese 'caring profession' does not understand the concept of confidentiality/privacy and openly discuss the reason of your visit in the reception area. I can go on about the transparency of the qualifying system but I don't have any reliable evidence. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 As I understand it, the gifts come after the treatment is complete. One of the best heart specialists in Japan investigated our son's heart (just a small hole, no big deal) without receiving any gifts, and he did a very thorough job. Just another thing that leads me to believe that it's more gratitude than bribery. Some professionals will always just have high standards, however apparently corrupt their milieu... I see a huge gulf between the good and the bad in the Japanese medical profession. Link to post Share on other sites
Siren 0 Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 I hope your son is well. A friend of mine whose mother-in-law had to go through cancer treatments (in Kyushu) including surgery to remove a tumour. I understand that the family gave the doctor quite a huge sum of money (if I remember correctly half a mil). But I accept that there are cases where it is gratuitous and a gesture of gratitude. To a certain extend I think it depends on the amount. Link to post Share on other sites
slow 0 Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 I'm not a person giving money for a proper treatment. And I think we can show our gratitude to say thank you or write a letter to the doctor.(Ah, I should wirte a letter to him soon!) Of course I can understand family want to show their gratitude with money, we felt same but I thougt giving money is very rude to the doctor if he is sensible. So we just gave sweets to nurses and doctors. Giving money is careless decision, I think. But I can't blame those people because it's common here and I hope most doctors are not expecting it. Link to post Share on other sites
Dims 0 Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 I large part of the problem is that (correct me if I am wrong) the Japanese health system does not allow importation of foreign pharmacueticals for use in the country without strict guidelines, to reduce competition with domestic products. Therefore a large proportion of drugs in this country have not been shown to be safe or effective in double blind crossover clinical tests. You get the dodgy Nihon version while people in other countries get the proven realiable medication. Be careful what you take in this country. Also the problem with stopping antibiotics before the full course is that even though you fell better, you still may have a lot of bacteria in your system, which may have had a chance, due to incomplete exposure to the antibiotic, to build up some immunity to the drug. This is a real problem as some strains of bacteria are immune to all major known antibiotics and modern medicine is losing the "arms race". And what is up with childbrith in this country? The horror stories I have heard from Mums put Japan about 20-30 years behind the western world in terms of childbirth practices and pre/post natal care. Anyone who has had a child in Japan care to comment? And lying on hot concrete, I AM knocking that, its a load of crap Link to post Share on other sites
scouser 4 Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 Care to expand on the "horror stories from Mums"? Link to post Share on other sites
nekobi 0 Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 i have a homestay family where the husband is an ob/gyn and his clinic is attached to their house. they are picture happy (imagaine that) and always take photos of me in front of the plants, paintings, and nurses in the waiting room. v interesting to see ashtrays there. for whom? the pregnant or new mothers? their husbands? strange. Link to post Share on other sites
Dims 0 Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 Quote: Care to expand on the "horror stories from Mums"? Certainly; Internal intrusive examinations rather than modern external ultrasounds, shithouse dection rates for major birth defects such as Down's Syndrome, Doctors word is final (i.e you get epidurals when HE says you do and no arguing with him as he is a DOCTOR, missionary positon birthing despite what is more natural or comfortable for the mother, the use of clamps around the skull of the baby during birth despite the hign risk of brain damage, stranglation of the baby by the umbilical cord due to inexperience of the doctor and the complete absence of an experienced midwife, and to top it all off the husband is not allowed in during labour. Oh and to top it all off, after birth there is no bringing the baby straight to the mother for feeding to forge a immediate strong connection, the baby is whisked awayto a nursery and the lucky parents get to look at it though a window for a few days! How's them apples! Granted this is all second-hand information as I and my partner have no experience in this area ourselves, and aren't likely to in the near future either. Especially in Japan. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 The doctor who delivered our boy was drunk and showed him to me saying 'Congratulations, it's a healthy little girl'. However, it was very late on Christmas day, there were no complications, and everything else was fine, so no worries! If you ask around, you can get pretty much the childbirth service you want in Japan, at the price you want to pay. Most of my friends have been quite happy with what they've seen of it, although there are certain clinics with bad reputations. Link to post Share on other sites
Dims 0 Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 Well that sounds a bit better Ocean. I will pass that on to my friend who is thinking of sending his wife home to Australia to give birth if they decide to have another tin lid soon. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 Definitely ask around. There's also a lot of info on the Japanese web about clinics, playschools etc. in specific locales. Link to post Share on other sites
Bowler 0 Posted November 13, 2003 Share Posted November 13, 2003 i went to the doctors today for a brain scan. had no problems. a most pleasant experience! except for the frigging migraine ive got!!! Link to post Share on other sites
big-will 7 Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 Quote: The doctor who delivered our boy was drunk and showed him to me saying 'Congratulations, it's a healthy little girl'. That must surely have been more than a little worrying. Bowler... a brain scan?? I hope all is ok. Link to post Share on other sites
Ocean11 0 Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 You might think so, but he had done everything else right up to that point. So I was happy to trust him when drunk (indeed, I often have to trust myself when drunk, so it was no stretch). Making a belly button isn't a difficult procedure anyway. Getting the sex wrong was just a simple gaffe for which he apologized graciously the next day. Of course, in some countries I might be expected to sue him... Link to post Share on other sites
TheOrange 0 Posted November 15, 2003 Share Posted November 15, 2003 Yes, I hear they are like that in China. Link to post Share on other sites
neversummer 0 Posted November 16, 2003 Share Posted November 16, 2003 I had tonsilitis last year for about two weeks and went to see a doctor, a gaijin, because of the stories I'd heard regarding Japanese medical practices..and what joke it was too. This guy, I'm not even sure he was a doctor, wouldn't make physical contact with me (no jokes here .db.)and by that i mean no checking of glands under the chin, nothing on the tongue and say arrrrgh, no looking in my ears or checking my temperature or heartrate; didn't make a single diagnosis of what I may have had ie. I had to tell him that I thought I had tonsilitis and when my time was up just wisked me out the door and sent me to a japanese nurse with inadequate english language skills. I was then given Japanese pain killers..worked for all of 1 hr with 2 tablets, anti-biotics for tonsilitis which ran out before I had recovered, and some anti-inflamatories for my throat. Total cost for 15 minutes and some useless drugs..25,000 yen Link to post Share on other sites
sanjo 2 Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 This guy, I'm not even sure he was a doctor, ....well if you are an aids-stricken gaijin, then can you blame the poor guy Link to post Share on other sites
its-a-clock 0 Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 I don't trust these J doctors. See the other thread (old boyfriend one) Link to post Share on other sites
emptyworld 0 Posted November 20, 2003 Share Posted November 20, 2003 neversummer,. I have had a similar experience. I am just going to curl up in bed next time I am ill and hope for the best. Link to post Share on other sites
jayneuruh 0 Posted November 21, 2003 Share Posted November 21, 2003 About the antibiotics thing... I "teach English" to doctors and, while admitting that money was a factor, they said that the antibiotics are given to prevent secondary bacterial infections developing when the body's immune system is low with the early stages of the virus. So there you have it...hmmm. Link to post Share on other sites
IIIII 2 Posted November 22, 2003 Share Posted November 22, 2003 Good to see they were honest. Link to post Share on other sites
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