Thursday 14 May 2015

Most healthy race in the world-Japan
A 10 year long study was carried out, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. It found that the quality of health in Japan was the best of those they studied.

The level of health in Japan is due to a number of factors including cultural habits, isolation, and a universal health care system. Japanese visit a doctor nearly 14 times a year, more than four times as often as Americans.

One of the biggest public health issues is smoking in Japan, which according to Tadao Kakizoe (honorary president of the National Cancer Center) kills more than 100,000 people per year and is responsible for one in ten deaths.  In Japan, their healthcare services are provided either through regional/national public hospitals or through private hospitals/clinics, and the population has universal access to any facility, though hospitals tend to charge higher for those without a referral from their doctor/GP. However space can be an issue in some regions, as in all countries due to underfunding. More than 14,000 emergency patients were rejected, and left the clinic without treatment, at least three times by Japanese hospitals before getting treatment in 2007, according to the latest survey. In the worst case, a woman with a breathing problem was rejected 49 times in Tokyo. She woman was in her 70s. Public health insurance covers most citizens and pays 70% or more cost for each care and each prescribed drug. Patients are responsible for the remainder (upper limits apply). The monthly insurance premium is 0–50,000 JPY (0-370 euro) per household (scaled to annual income). Additional private health insurance is available only to cover the co-payments or non-covered costs, and usually makes a fixed payment per days in hospital or per surgery performed, rather than actual spending. In 2005, Japan spent 8.2% of GDP on health care. 

Picture from: www.psychologytoday.com

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