I don’t speak Japanese at all, but I just had a medical appointment in Japan

I was taking my parents to see the red leaves in Kyushu. Lao Yang occasionally felt cold. At first, his throat was not very comfortable. Even after eating a lot of Ryukakusan, there was no sign of improvement. When he woke up this morning, he said he still didn't feel well. He couldn't take his parents out. If you dare to neglect, go to the hospital.

OK, but HOW?

I have traveled to Japan at least a dozen times, and it is not that I have no experience in medical treatment. However, that time I was accompanied by a friend who has lived in Japan for a long time. From making an appointment to consulting to getting medicine, I was only responsible for being a patient and knew nothing else. Now I am responsible for finding a hospital that can treat patients in Chinese or English and can make appointments smoothly. I am like a headless fly, buzzing, buzzing.

❖

Find a hospital

Don't panic, let me think about it.

The requirement is to find a clinic or general hospital that can make appointments for medical treatment today and provide consultation services in Chinese or English.

The difficulties are not being able to speak Japanese at all and not understanding Japan’s medical treatment process and medical system . I have friends and relatives in Japan, but none of them are in Fukuoka or nearby. I asked a friend who once studied in Fukuoka if he had any hospital recommendations. My friend was in such good health that he had never been to a hospital in Fukuoka.

The first clue is that a few days ago, I saw a promotional poster on the sliding door of the Kagoshima Ibusuki Station Tourist Information Center, which talked about how foreign tourists can seek medical treatment in Japan. Maybe it was because the foreign tourist pictured on the poster was a white man, so I felt that it had nothing to do with me as a foreign tourist, so I passed by. What retribution. But I vaguely remember what hotline number I can call .

The second clue was when my parents traveled to Yokohama this year. Since the hotel front desk clerk couldn't communicate in English at all, they called a telephone translation service hotline, which can provide tourists with free translation services in multiple languages. Translation Services.

Both clues pointed to the hotline. So I started searching online, "Fukuoka, medical, hotline", and then found two Chinese news, one from Sohu and one from the overseas edition of People's Daily, both news from 2018. It is said that Fukuoka has opened a consultation and translation service hotline for foreigners to seek medical treatment. It can provide medical institution recommendations and translation services during the treatment. It is free and only requires payment of the phone bill.

Two news articles similar to press releases included information about a Fukuoka overseas real estate company, but there was no mention of the hotline number.

However, the news at least provided the name "Fukuoka Asia Medical Support Center", and the official website of this center was successfully searched using this name.

■ Search results page. According to Chinese keywords, news containing information is at the top. Although a phone number is not provided, at least information is provided, which is considered good. The official website can be found in Chinese, but because it’s in katakana, I can barely understand it, so it’s really easy to miss it.

In view of the fact that there are so many pheasant websites and strange organizations under the guise of official websites, I do not have 100% trust in this support center with a relatively large title. But it doesn't hurt to make a phone call. If that doesn't work, just find other ways.

■ The Chinese introduction provided by the official website is this phone number. You can call it if you need it in Fukuoka.

When the call was connected, the other party spoke in Japanese. He must have seen the location of my mobile phone number and directly connected me to the Chinese service.

The Chinese-speaking lady on the other side of the phone sounded like a Chinese-speaking Japanese. After hearing my situation, she answered another call (I will talk about this in detail later) . I could hear her talking to the person on the other side. Communication is equivalent to a phone call in which all three parties are online and can hear each other's speech. The third party called a Japanese man. Through later translation, I learned that he recommended us a clinic that could accept foreigners that was very close to where we lived.

After providing us with the name, address and phone number of the clinic, the translator told me that I need to make an appointment here. The clinic will be open at 9 o'clock, and I can just call and make an appointment at that time.

After hanging up the phone, there were still 30 minutes until 9 o'clock. So I had a solid breakfast and continued to call the clinic after I came back.

The nurse who answered the phone at the clinic didn't speak English. After we had a difficult conversation, she gave me a phone number specifically for this clinic to accept appointments. I called three times within ten minutes, but no one answered. .

So I called the support center for the second time, and the translator I got through this time was Chinese. She called that clinic for me and said that I could only make an appointment through that appointment phone number, but no one got through.

I asked her if she could help me find another clinic just like the first phone call, but she refused. She insisted and told me that this service hotline can only provide translation services. I need to find the hospital myself and provide my phone number, and they will translate.

Didn’t I say that your service includes providing hospital information? She insisted that we were only responsible for translation. I asked how I, a foreigner, would find a hospital. Is there a local hospital in Fukuoka that you would recommend? It doesn’t matter even if it’s a little further away. She excused herself by saying that she received more calls from Osaka and Tokyo, but very few from Fukuoka. I said, aren't you the Fukuoka Medical Support Center? The other party said yes, but received more calls from Osaka and Tokyo, and very few from Fukuoka.

I was quite speechless and didn't want to argue with her anymore, so I hung up the phone. At this time, I had an extraneous problem, that is, I have been to a clinic in Japan myself, because it was brought there by a friend who has lived in Japan for a long time. I did not question whether the clinic looked big and grand. After all, in China, The buildings of public tertiary hospitals are all very large, symbolizing professionalism and authority.

Therefore, I am still worried that if I go to a clinic with a small reputation, my picky father will question whether it is an unprofessional hospital or something. Coupled with the pressure of searching for hospitals on my own, it suddenly occurred to me that Kyushu University is located in Fukuoka. Aren’t there the first-class affiliated hospitals of well-known universities in Japanese dramas? I searched and found Kyushu University Hospital.

The official website also showed that this hospital was qualified to treat foreigners. I wrote down the phone number and called the support center. The person who answered the phone for the third time was a Japanese lady. She still stated my previous situation and appeal. The lady helped me call Kyushu University Hospital.

I listened to the communication on the phone for almost ten minutes, and I can summarize it in two points:

① This type of comprehensive hospital only treats serious and complex diseases. If it is a common cold or cold, we will not accept treatment. For ordinary diseases, you need to go to the clinic first. If it is really serious, or you need to undergo "precision instrument examination", the clinic will be responsible for recommending transfer to a comprehensive hospital (but whether this rule applies to all comprehensive hospitals needs to be verified) , this only represents the rules of Kyushu University Hospital) .

② Kyushu University Hospital can indeed treat foreigners, but it does not mean that the hospital provides translators. Instead, patients need to hire translators to come with them for treatment. In other words, this service has nothing to do with the hospital.

Then I thought about it. There are many medical visas now, and they should be more targeted at large general hospitals or large private hospitals. But I really don’t know much about this aspect at all. It seems that medical beauty, physical examinations, etc. have become quite popular in recent years (off topic) .

Kyushu University Hospital was out of luck, so the young lady took the initiative to help me get through to the Fukuoka Medical Association (that seems to be the name) , which was the first call that provided me with the clinic. On the second phone call, he desperately refused to help me get through the phone.

What’s more interesting is that after the medical association learned about the disease, they recommended otolaryngology specialist clinics. According to my understanding, it should be internal medicine or something like that. If you have a sore throat, see an otolaryngologist. It turns out there is such logic.

The other party also provided the phone numbers of two hospitals that can accept foreigners' diagnosis and treatment. The next step was more tortuous. I mainly held the phone and listened. The first hospital declined because it received more patients and translation might take more time. However, we were offered a nearby clinic where the director could speak Chinese, but the appointments at this clinic were already full, so we had to give up. The third (that is, the second one provided by the medical association) clinic accepted the appointment very happily. After providing us with the address and name, we were told to arrive before 12 o'clock.

The call lasted 20 minutes, and most of the time I held up my phone to listen to the translator communicating with the hospital. To be honest, I am so moved by the spirit of the Japanese service industry that is really not afraid of trouble and really helps you find a solution.

❖

See a doctor

The clinic was only one street away from our hotel. We immediately set off after hanging up the phone and arrived at the first floor of the building where the clinic is located 10 minutes later. Take the elevator up to the fourth floor. There are several specialty clinics on this floor that seem to belong to different owners, including internal medicine, dentistry, and psychiatry. The otolaryngology clinic we made an appointment with is at the innermost side of the corridor. This is also the place where we can translate on the phone. The lady gave me a hint.

The clinic is very small. Before we entered, there were already two patients waiting on the sofa. After saying hello, the nurse at the front desk immediately learned that we had just made an appointment through an interpreter. She handed us a prepared information form in Chinese, and even used a translator to tell me: "You can fill it out while sitting on the sofa. ”.

■The hospital information form, after filling it out for a while, I realized why I can’t understand it? Oh my God, it’s actually in Chinese…

After filling out the form, taking your temperature, your name was quickly called. I accompanied Lao Yang into the consulting room. It was said to be a consulting room, not much bigger than the cubicle in our dental hospital. The doctor looked to be 70 years old and spoke pretty good English. Lao Yang was sitting on the diagnosis and treatment chair, next to him was a table filled with various medical equipment. I have also seen otolaryngology in China. The equipment is very advanced now, but I didn’t see so much complicated equipment. To be honest, it was a bit scary.

The examination process was very detailed, and only three or four tools were used to examine the throat. If you are used to being served by a tongue depressor, it is really a bit inexplicably flattering. The doctor's consultation was also very detailed, including the day we came to Japan, the next itinerary and so on.

The conclusion was that the upper part of the throat was inflamed. The doctor used an "L" shaped metal instrument to apply medicine to the affected area. He was very happy to learn that we had one more day to stay in Fukuoka and asked us to come back tomorrow for another dose of medicine. He also explained to me how to take the prescribed medicine and how long to take it, and told me that the air conditioner in the hotel room should not be too high and should be kept moist.

Next, the nurse took Lao Yang to a nearby corner, to a small table measuring one meter long, for treatment. Just hold something like a small distillation pot and spray it into your mouth. A boy next to him was also receiving similar treatment. He sprayed it into his nose. The treatment time is three minutes, after which the machine automatically stops. The doctor came over and told us to come back tomorrow morning. After thanking him, the diagnosis and treatment part was over.

Back in the waiting room, the front desk soon asked us to pay again. This part of the payment is the diagnosis and treatment fee, which costs a total of 4,000 yen, approximately RMB 260 , including a detailed list of expenses. Without medical insurance, I think this price is acceptable. After looking at the doctor's stamp on the medical treatment sheet, I discovered that it was the director who treated us. In China, we don't have many opportunities to be consulted by the director in person. It was quite interesting.

After the nurse who received us saw that I had finished paying, she immediately told me that she would take us to get the medicine. The prescription is on the other side of the elevator room, and it seems that these clinics should collect medicines here. The nurse helped us hand over the prescription form to the pharmacy staff. Later we simply filled out a Chinese information sheet. After waiting for about 10 minutes, the pharmacy nurse handed us the medicine, including one in English. Instructions, and a Chinese dosage guide.

The medicine was prescribed for three days and cost 1,460 yen , which is about 95 yuan . The pharmaceutical company is MEIJI, I'm a little confused. Lao Yang later found out that there were imitations of this medicine in China, which was interesting.

❖

Postscript

· Translation calls are indeed free. After calling us, I felt that the other party was really working hard to help us solve the problem. Of course, I have reservations about the attitude of the operator who answered the call for the second time. In any case, I would like to thank the ladies and the relevant Japanese associations and institutions. This service is provided. No matter in terms of diagnosis and treatment results or cost, the institutions that recommend hospitals are fair and professional. Although being sick is not a good thing, the experience is indeed commendable.

· It’s like this when traveling in Japan. I can understand all kinds of Chinese characters on the street, but I just can’t communicate. The general English proficiency of Japanese people is worrying. In the early years, there was a saying of "pen talk", where everyone would take a piece of paper and write Chinese characters. However, many words in Japanese kanji are not the same as those in Chinese, which is quite unreliable. In hospitals, the education level of doctors is generally relatively high, but when it comes to medical treatment, it is better to be more cautious.

· In fact, Lao Yang's illness is not urgent, but he will feel uncomfortable if he does not go to the hospital. As long as young people are sure to carry it, over-the-counter medicines in Japanese drug stores can also guarantee solutions to headaches and brain fever. However, if you are traveling with your parents, you still need to prepare a health plan, and do not use your own physical condition to measure your parents' condition. If they need to go to the hospital, please cancel all trips and go to the hospital without hesitation.

· Because we both have multiple-entry visas, we did not buy additional commercial travel insurance (Japanese visas do not require travel insurance) . How can I say this? The more times we travel, the more we meet various people abroad. The probability of this situation increases, that's for sure. I myself also lost my umbrella in Kyoto and left it in front of a convenience store before disappearing. I told everyone who had lived in Japan that I couldn't believe that such a thing could happen. If you are used to buying insurance, please first understand the documents required for overseas medical reimbursement. Clinics in Japan will hand you the receipts and medical treatment orders directly, while in Europe they will send them to you by post office after ten days and a half. I don’t know much about it, but I think it will definitely work if you don’t get the receipts and go to the insurance company. difficulty.

And finally, I hope everyone can take a minute to write down these phone numbers before coming to Japan, and call them in any situation to facilitate your travel. I never thought of including such a phone number when I wrote a guide to Japan before. I didn’t think it would be useful because I knew English, but it was so convenient to use it once.

I also hope that I don’t have a chance to call the medical hotline, so I can go out happily and go home safely.

Tokyo’s medical consultation hotline: 5285 8181 (English, Chinese)

Multilingual daily life information service: 045 671 7209 (English)

Fukuoka Asia Medical Support Center: 092 286 9595 (Chinese)

In addition, when we were in the clinic, the nurse used an APP to translate with our voice. After checking, it was also a translation APP recommended by the Japan National Tourism Administration, called VoiceTra, which I think is quite reliable. I didn’t charge any money, I just thought it was good. If necessary, you can search and download it yourself before departure.