A shortage of generic drugs is becoming serious in Japan amid the spread of influenza and the novel coronavirus, prompting the health ministry to make all-out efforts to sort out a structural issue haunting the industry.
Japan’s health ministry has confirmed 5,695 cases where users of My Number social security and taxation identification cards were presented with wrong rates of out-of-pocket expenses at medical institutions.
About 20 pct of doctors at hospitals in Japan are believed to be working overtime for more than 960 hours a year, equivalent to the 80-hours-per-month threshold for being at risk of death from overwork, a survey by a health ministry research team found.
Japanese department stores are expanding medical and beauty care services to take advantage of an increase in consumers wishing to avoid disease and stay healthy both inside and outside.
The stores aim to attract more shoppers through the face-to-face services, which are not possible online.
A Japanese research team has identified gene mutations involved in the development of brain aneurysms, a discovery that raises hopes for pharmaceutical treatment of the condition.
About 5 pct of Japanese people are said to have brain aneurysms that have not ruptured. But the only treatment available is surgical procedures such as those using vascular catheters and craniotomy, in which part of the skull is temporarily removed.
The Japanese government on Friday adopted a roadmap for launching a system to allow hospitals and pharmacies across the country to share electronic medical records by 2030. Japan has been slow to digitalize its medical sector, which was exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The country now aims to es
The Jehovah’s Witnesses religious group is continuing to instruct its followers to forbid blood transfusions for their children in violation of health ministry guidelines on preventing harm to children, according to a lawyers’ report that was set to be submitted to the government Monday.
Sources say this is the first time for a person to be arrested in Japan on suspicion of brokering organ transplants overseas without permission.
The online survey, conducted by the Japanese Nursing Association on its members last autumn, obtained answers from around 5,100 members, with the response rate standing at 34.0 pct. The average age of respondents came to 41.3 and women accounted for 93.5 pct of all respondents. Of the respondents, 86.6 pct were nurses, while the rest were made up of midwives, public health nurses and others.
Under the revised medical service law, which was enacted in May 2021, extra work for hospital doctors will be limited at 960 hours a year in principle. For doctors for whom long work hours are unavoidable due to reasons including services at emergency medical centers, the upper limit on annual overtime will be set at 1,860 hours.
Barrier Free Japan