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Previous Volume 333:1295-1299 November 9, 1995 Number 19

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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The Japanese health care system presents a tantalizing puzzle. On the positive side, universal health insurance has been achieved at relatively low cost and the health indexes of infant mortality and life expectancy at birth are among the best in the world. However, the system has been criticized for lack of good management, quality control, and attention to consumers.¹ In this article we will discuss the link between the positive and negative aspects of the Japanese system by describing the use of a universal fee schedule to define much of the health care system. We will then describe current efforts . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Principal Features of the Japanese System

Costs

Structure

National Fee Schedule

Private Practice versus Hospital Care

Dispensation of Drugs

Role of the Fee Schedule

Recent Attempts at Reform

Source Information

From the School of Policy Management and the Department of Hospital and Medical Administration, School of Medicine, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan (N.I.); and the Department of Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (J.C.C.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Ikegami at the Department of Hospital and medical Administration, School of Medicine, Keio University, 35 Shinanomachi Shinjuku, Tokyo 160, Japan.

References

Related Letters:

Survival after Age 80
Preston S. H., Elo I. T., Hughes-Davies T.H., Sallar A. M., Hogg R. S., Schechter M. T., Manton K. G., Vaupel J. C.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1996; 334:537-538, Feb 22, 1996. Correspondence

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