Japan-hospitals : the journal of the Japan Hospital Association
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Since 1988, there has been a noted increase in the use of emergency transportation by tuberculosis patients in Japan. Therefore it is necessary to build a suitable emergency medical care system for these patients. We evaluated the present emergency medical care system available to them in Tokyo. ⋯ We also analized transportation data from the point of view of municipal districts (wards, cities, towns, villages), MCSAs and the Tokubetsuku region. We concluded that the number of emergency transports for tuberculosis patients has gradually been increasing and that the currently MCSA regions were not ideal for use in developing a transportation system for these patients. Using larger areas such as Tokubetsu-ku and Tokyotoka would be more practical emergency medical care system for tuberculosis patients in Tokyo, it will be necessary to take into account the Tokubetsu-ku area, the vagrant population within it, and the time required to transport the patients from this area to the Tokyotoka area.
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The private hospital in Japan is like a patient with a very serious condition, but one that is reversible. Unless the treatment or appropriate support is given in a timely manner, the patient may have a cardiac arrest and either die or suffer permanent injury. ⋯ More will suffer the same fate in the immediate future, because life saving measures continue to be withheld. This article attempts to provide some general and specific aspects of the Japanese health care system that have led private hospitals to the brink of extinction, and makes a plea for their survival.