Legal intervention against medical accidents in Japan

The number of civil lawsuits in Japan concerning medical accidents has been increasing gradually. Emotional reports in the media about medical accidents have amplified people’s distrust of physicians. Since 2002, the police have been more actively involved, and the number of criminal prosecutions against physicians as a result of medical accidents has increased. Fear of litigation and arrest has demoralized physicians. Communication of the risks associated with various medical practices is considered vital if physician–patient relationships are to be improved. Moreover, there needs to be a reconsideration of legal interventions into medical affairs

The catastrophic collapse of morale among hospital physicians in Japan

The past few decades have witnessed bleak pictures of unhappy physicians worldwide. Japanese physicians working in hospitals are particularly distressed. Today, Japan’s healthcare system is near collapse because physicians are utterly demoralized. Their loss of morale is due to budget constraints, excessive demands, physician shortages, poor distribution, long working hours, hostile media, increasing lawsuits, and violence by patients. Severe cost-saving policies, inadequate distribution of healthcare resources, and the failure to communicate risks has damaged physicians’ morale and created conflicts between physicians and society. Physicians should communicate the uncertainty, limitations, and risks of modern medicine to all members of society. No resolution can be achieved unless trust exists between physicians, patients, the public, the media, bureaucrats, politicians and jurists

Effect of Japanese Herbal Kampo Medicine Goreisan on Reoperation Rates after Burr-Hole Surgery for Chronic Subdural Hematoma: Analysis of a National Inpatient Database

Goreisan is a herbal Kampo medicine used for treating chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) in Japan. Experimental studies have suggested that Goreisan exerts a hydrogogue effect, but clinical evidence for the effectiveness of Goreisan in CSDH is currently lacking. Using a national Japanese inpatient database, we examined the association between Goreisan use and reoperation rates after burr-hole surgery for CSDH. We identified 36,020 patients, including 3,889 Goreisan users and 32,131 nonusers. Propensity scores of receiving Goreisan were calculated based on hospital characteristics and patient backgrounds (age, sex, body mass index, activities of daily living, consciousness level, comorbidities, antithrombotic agent use, mannitol infusion, and corticosteroid infusion). One-to-one propensity-score matching created 3,879 pairs of Goreisan users and nonusers. Propensity-matched analysis revealed that Goreisan use was significantly associated with a lower reoperation rate (4.8%) compared with nonuse (6.2%) (risk difference, −1.4%; 95% confidence interval (CI), −2.4% to −0.38%). The number needed to prevent one reoperation was 72 (95% CI, 41–265). Instrumental-variable analysis showed similar results to the propensity-matched analysis. These results suggest that Goreisan use reduced the need for reoperation after burr-hole surgery for CSDH

Willingness to pay for health care services in common cold, retinal detachment, and myocardiac infarction: an internet survey in Japan

BACKGROUND: The application of Willingness To Pay (WTP) measurement with Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) to medical services is gradually increasing. Knowing what influences WTP is an important matter because validity of CVM in medical services remains controversial. The objective of this survey is to measure WTP for the treatment of typical acute illnesses and to analyze the factors affecting WTP. METHODS: A questionnaire survey was conducted over the Internet, in which 795 men and women between 40 and 59 years old responded to questions about WTP for medical expenses in three hypothetical scenarios: common cold (CC), retinal detachment (RD) and myocardiac infarction (MI). RESULTS: Mean WTP was $29.9 for CC,$2,233 for RD, and $8,976 for MI. WTP for RD and MI was lower in the low-income group. While WTP for CC did not vary with income, WTP was higher in groups whose current subjective fitness levels were low. CONCLUSION: Although WTP measurements are criticized frequently for their validity and reliability, they are still useful for determining the economic value of medical services. Based on the results of this study, it is deemed necessary to enhance safety nets for low-income earners in regards to serious illnesses that incur high medical expenses. Further, it is recommended that the rate of co-payments be set relatively high with respect to mild illnesses for which alternative services are available

Effect of the Japanese Herbal Kampo Medicine Dai-Kenchu-To on Postoperative Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction Requiring Long-Tube Decompression: A Propensity Score Analysis

Adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) is an adverse consequence of abdominal surgery. Although the Kampo medicine Dai-kenchu-to is widely used in Japan for treatment of postoperative ASBO, rigorous clinical studies for its use have not been performed. In the present retrospective observational study using the Japanese diagnosis procedure combination inpatient database, we selected 288 propensity-score-matched patients with early postoperative ASBO following colorectal cancer surgery, who received long-tube decompression (LTD) with or without Dai-kenchu-to administration. The success rates of LTD were not significantly different between Dai-kenchu-to users and nonusers (84.7% versus 78.5%; P = .224), while Dai-kenchu-to users showed a shorter duration of LTD (8 versus 10 days; P = .012), shorter duration between long-tube insertion and discharge (23 versus 25 days; P = .018), and lower hospital charges ($23,086 versus$26,950; P = .018) compared with Dai-kenchu-to nonusers. In conclusion, the present study suggests that Dai-kenchu-to is effective for reducing the duration of LTD and saving costs

Artificial colloids versus human albumin for the treatment of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome: A retrospective cohort study

Background: The optimal colloid solution for the treatment of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) remains to be established. Objective: We aimed to compare artificial colloids (AC) with human albumin (HA) for the treatment of OHSS. Materials and Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, data for OHSS participants were collected from a national inpatient database in Japan. The participants received intravenous fluid management with AC (n = 156) or HA (n = 127). We compared the two groups in terms of the length of stay, development of post-treatment complications, and termination surgery. Results: In multivariable linear regression analyses for log-transformed length of stay with reference to the OHSS participants receiving AC, the regression coefficient (95% confidence interval) in participants receiving HA was 0.03 (-0.04-0.09, p = 0.42). Thromboembolism occurred in two participants in the HA group and three participants in the AC group. Two participants in the HA group suffered renal failure during hospitalization. No participants underwent termination surgery in the two groups. Conclusions: The present results showed comparable efficacy between AC and HA for the treatment of OHSS. There were no significant differences in post-treatment complications between the two groups. Key words: Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, Treatment, Colloid, Length of stay

Selection and concentration of obstetric facilities in Japan: Longitudinal study based on national census data

Aim: A shortage of obstetricians with an increased workload is a social problem in Japan. The government and professional bodies are trying to cope with this problem by accelerating “selection and concentration” of obstetric facilities. The aim of this study is to evaluate the recent trend of selection and concentration. Methods: We used data on the number of deliveries and of obstetricians in each hospital and clinic in Japan, according to the Static Survey of Medical Institutions in 2005, 2008 and 2011. To evaluate the inter-facility equity of the number of deliveries, number of obstetricians and number of deliveries per obstetrician, Gini coefficients were calculated. Results: The number of obstetric hospitals decreased by 20% and the number of deliveries per hospital increased by 26% between 2005 and 2011. Hospital obstetricians increased by 16% and the average number of obstetricians per hospital increased by 19% between 2008 and 2011. Gini coefficient of deliveries has significantly decreased. In contrast, Gini coefficient of deliveries per obstetrician has significantly increased. The degrees of increase in obstetricians and of decrease in deliveries per obstetrician were largest at the hospitals with the highest proportion of cesarean sections. The proportion of obstetric hospitals with the “optimal volume” of deliveries and obstetricians defined by Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology was 4% in 2008, and it had doubled to 8.1% three years later. Conclusion: The selection and concentration of obstetric facilities is progressing rapidly and effectively in Japan.This study was supported by Health Labour Sciences Research Grant of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Tokyo, Japan (H25 - Research on Region Medical - 006)

Association between hospital case volume and mortality in non-elderly pneumonia patients stratified by severity: a retrospective cohort study

Background: The characteristics and aetiology of pneumonia in the non-elderly population is distinct from that in the elderly population. While a few studies have reported an inverse association between hospital case volume and clinical outcome in elderly pneumonia patients, the evidence is lacking in a younger population. In addition, the relationship between volume and outcome may be different in severe pneumonia cases than in mild cases. In this context, we tested two hypotheses: 1) non-elderly pneumonia patients treated at hospitals with larger case volume have better clinical outcome compared with those treated at lower case volume hospitals; 2) the volume-outcome relationship differs by the severity of the pneumonia. Methods: We conducted the study using the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database. Patients aged 18–64 years discharged from the participating hospitals between July to December 2010 were included. The hospitals were categorized into four groups (very-low, low, medium, high) based on volume quartiles. The association between hospital case volume and in-hospital mortality was evaluated using multivariate logistic regression with generalized estimating equations adjusting for pneumonia severity, patient demographics and comorbidity score, and hospital academic status. We further analyzed the relationship by modified A-DROP pneumonia severity score calculated using the four severity indices: dehydration, low oxygen saturation, orientation disturbance, and decreased systolic blood pressure. Results: We identified 8,293 cases of pneumonia at 896 hospitals across Japan, with 273 in-hospital deaths (3.3%). In the overall population, no significant association between hospital volume and in-hospital mortality was observed. However, when stratified by pneumonia severity score, higher hospital volume was associated with lower in-hospital mortality at the intermediate severity level (modified A-DROP score = 2) (odds ratio (OR) of very low vs. high: 2.70; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.12–6.55, OR of low vs. high: 2.40; 95% CI:0.99–5.83). No significant association was observed for other severity strata. Conclusions: Hospital case volume was inversely associated with in-hospital mortality in non-elderly pneumonia patients with intermediate pneumonia severity. Our result suggests room for potential improvement in the quality of care in hospitals with lower volume, to improve treatment outcomes particularly in patients admitted with intermediate pneumonia severity