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Health System in Japan

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Health Services Evaluation

Part of the book series: Health Services Research ((HEALTHSR))

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Abstract

The health-care system in Japan has been based on the Statutory Health Insurance System, consisting of more than 3,000 community-based and employment-based insurance plans with significan subsidies from the general budget. The system, supplemented by the Public Assisstance Program, covers the entire residents for most medical and dental services. The national government decides its benefit basket and prices of covered services and pharmaceuticals after nagotiations with providers and insurance organizations. Two-tierd local governments are involved in regulating the system, developing supplementary measures, and providing public health services. Patients are free to choose providers when they use health services. Physcians are not differentiated into general physicians and specialits: ambulatory care is provided both at clinics and at hosptital outpatient departments.With different mixes of providers in different regions, the government has been developing regional regulations. The system works fairly well: access to healthcare is good though financial and geographical barries have been occasionally reported, particularly in the era of increasing poverty. Mechanisms to monitor and regulate quality of care are becoming more important with increasing pressures on resources.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan

    Ryozo Matsuda

Authors
  1. Ryozo Matsuda
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ryozo Matsuda .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Adrian Levy

  2. ICON plc, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Sarah Goring

  3. Department of Biostatistics, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA

    Constantine Gatsonis

  4. University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

    Boris Sobolev

  5. European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, Department of Health Care Management, Berlin University of Technology, Berlin, Germany

    Ewout van Ginneken

  6. Department Health Care Management Faculty of Economics and Management, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Reinhard Busse

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Matsuda, R. (2019). Health System in Japan. In: Levy, A., Goring, S., Gatsonis, C., Sobolev, B., van Ginneken, E., Busse, R. (eds) Health Services Evaluation. Health Services Research. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8715-3_45

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8715-3_45

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4939-8714-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4939-8715-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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