Eric Takabayashi wrote:
> "John W." wrote:
>
>> 6oo2dy802@sneakemail.com (Paulrus) wrote in message
>> news:<733c8a12.0306301351.22654b79@posting.google.com>...
>>>
>>> So can someone help me settle this?  Explain why they take so long
>>> in
>>> Japan and if possible, I would like to know if Japanese dentists
>>> think
>>> that spreading proceedures over several appointments is the "best"
>>> way
>>> to do things, or do they do it because that's how the system works
>>> (or
>>> something else maybe?.
>>>
>> Since everyone else has spoken about dentistry, ask your wife to
>> consider other things that in Japan are considered 'major' and in the
>> US are not. Take, for example, my father in law. He broke his ankle,
>> pretty bad. The same thing happened to my friend in the US (though
>> much, much worse) and he was in the hospital about three days. My
>> father in law was hospitalized for a month. Does your wife consider
>> this normal? Probably not. It's an ankle, not life threatening, not
>> even really all that inconvenient since he (like many patients) went
>> to work and to home (near the hospital) nearly every day, returning
>> at
>> night to sleep in the hospital. But in Japan he (and others) didn't
>> really bat an eye about this.
>
> I know people who've had experience with simple broken legs, and
> three weeks or a month in the hospital. Doctors seemed to consider it
> too much trouble to have them get around and care for themselves at
> home. It would be a different matter if it were pleasant to be
> confined to a hospital bed.

I wonder if this is this case, or if it is symptomatic of the state health
care system. Since the state is covering the vast majority of the expenses,
people and doctors have little incentive to refrain some engaging in
unnecessary procedures. See how far a month's hospital stay for a simple
broken leg would fly in a country where people actually pay for their health
care. Japan is my only benchmark for a country with such a health care
system so I'd be curious to know if things like a month's hospital stay for
a broken ankle/leg would be common in other countries with state health
care.

>> Japanese really like to not question the way things are done in Japan
>> and simply accept it as the best solution. That's why their economy
>> is
>> doing so well.
>>
>> John W.

-- 
Kevin Gowen
"When I'm president, we'll do executive orders to overcome any wrong
thing the Supreme Court does tomorrow or any other day." Dick Gephardt
(D-MO), presidential candidate