Healthcare in Japan - Research Paper Example

Healthcare in Japan Japan’s Healthcare System Comparison Between Japan and US Healthcare Systems Japan Healthcare Systems US Healthcare Systems Access Since from 1960s up till now, a National Health Program is settled in Japan. The program is a universal healthcare package for the public of the country. It provides healthcare access in general to the public inclusively with dental, pharmaceutical, inpatient and outpatient services (Hirose & Imanaka, 2003). In American transitions, healthcare has remained in the first priority of the government.

The government of the country upholds tremendous vision to provide universal healthcare service to the public. The policies are embarked to provide equal healthcare service to all the segments of the country (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2012). Due to the country’s limitation of resources and rising inflation, the access of country’s national social health insurance access is only given to the elderly (Sato, 2001). In contemporary surveys’ a critique comes by for US healthcare systems that they are more concerned about the pharmaceutical business and lesser about people’s health and care (Sato, 2001).

The healthcare systems in Japan are dedicated to meet the needs of the public, by maintaining the healthcare delivery standards and by meeting the right need of the people of the country (Sato, 2001). There are health programs such as Obamacare to meet the care needs of the public in general (Sato, 2001). The surveys indicate that country is inevitably accepting horizontal healthcare inequalities, giving easy access of healthcare service to the rich and lesser to the poor (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2012).

Hispanics, Africans, and minorities are often complaining about their healthcare access in the country. The care is imbalanced and for which the Government is trying to incorporate (Garson, 2004). A gap is there in between the poor and the healthcare service access, which the government and healthcare agencies are trying to reduced in the country by effective healthcare policy formations (Watanabe & Hashimoto, 2012). The healthcare systems are experiencing deteriorating administrative efficiency for which there is low health access control in the country (Garson, 2004).

Cost Japan being contrastive to US in terms of healthcare cost to the GDP ratio which is inflating is experiencing soaring in the healthcare expenditure. The cost increment is lesser than US, which is experiencing more rapid inflation than Japan (Sato, 2001). Due to rising inflation, economic downturn and high unemployment, the country is experiencing rise of healthcare cost (Garson, 2004). The high cost of care services is directly influential to the public, which are pooled in impoverishment (Sato, 2001).

The private healthcare services are expensive and for which cutting down the percentiles of care customers (Garson, 2004). Rapid aging of the country is one cause of increase in the cost of healthcare (Hirose & Imanaka, 2003). Increased prices of healthcare equipment, doctors and facilitations are increasing the overall cost of healthcare (Sato, 2001). Country’s national savings can become a control factor of healthcare cost (Sato, 2001). Policy directions are required to control the cost of the healthcare (Sato, 2001).

Private healthcare service providers have to come forward to control the prices of healthcare services (Sato, 2001). The rise of healthcare cost is mostly associated to the system of healthcare, which requires purposive reforms and amendments (Sato, 2001). Quality Health ministry is not prioritizing quality. Highest healthcare spending recorded ever in the country and this is for healthcare service expansion and its quality. Health care professionals are keeping less emphasis on quality. The contemporary surveys indicate that US lacks in healthcare service quality from its peer developed countries.

Quality compromise is being noticed in Japans’ both public and private healthcare sectors. The healthcare machinery and system of the country is highly advanced. It is advanced both technologically and innovatively. Difference of healthcare quality is there in rural and urban areas. With decisive measures of professionals, the country has been able to maintain standards of diverse quality care. Poor mitigation of healthcare resources is bringing poor quality in the service. The country upholds best treatment facilitations and healthcare resources (Garson, 2004).

Accreditation is what Japanese healthcare centers and hospitals require and which they can achieve through high healthcare quality service (Hirose & Imanaka, 2003). Pros and Cons of the US and Japan’s Healthcare System Japan being a nationalized country is having a national healthcare system. The system is balanced with its access of care, providing equal opportunities of care to the people of the country. US are also present with an effective healthcare system- a system that is present with stabilized infrastructure and effective governing policies (Hirose & Imanaka, 2003).

Though US upholds best infrastructure, facilities and resources of healthcare in the world but still the country lags in the quality of care as compare to its peer developed countries. Japan is lacking quality in the healthcare. Due to limitations of resources and impoverishment of people in the country, Japanese healthcare system a developing one and requires major improvements in the quality care. US on the other side are having high inflation rates, high unemployment and economic downturn due to which the country is experiencing high cost of healthcare.

The surveys indicate that Japanese Health Ministry is putting less emphasis on the quality of healthcare where US is trying to figure out new ways in improving the quality of service (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2012). References List Garson, A. (2004). U.S. Healthcare: The Intertwined Caduceus of Physicians, Coverage, Quality, and Cost. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 43(1), 1-5. Hirose, M., & Imanaka, Y. (2003). How can we improve the quality of health care in Japan? Health Policy, 66, 29-49.

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2012, August 29). A New Dawn in Nurse Education. Retrieved October 4, 2013, from www.rwjf.org: http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/newsroom-content/2012/08/a-new-dawn-in-nurse-education.html Sato, Y. (2001). Comparative Analysis of Healthcare Costs in Japan and the United States. Japan and the World Economy, 13, 429-454. Watanabe, R., & Hashimoto, H. (2012). Horizontal inequity in healthcare access under the universal coverage in Japan. Social Science and Medicine, 75, 1372-1378.