What are the differences between hospitals in the United States and Japan?

View of downtown Portland from "Mountain View Hospital"

Two years ago, I took the opportunity to travel to the United States and visited several hospitals in Portland on the west coast. Eye-opening.

When I arrived in Portland, under the enthusiastic guidance of my friends, I visited Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU for short, including a medical school and several research institutions). According to data, OHSU is ranked among the top ten medical schools in the United States all year round, and its comprehensive ranking in research is also among the best. Cancer research is a highlight.

In 2008, OHSU received a $100 million charitable donation for cancer research from the world-famous "Nike" founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny Knight. It's not uncommon to know "Nike", but not many people know that "Nike" headquarters is only a 40-minute drive from Portland. This time I was unable to go to the "Nike" headquarters due to time constraints, and I look forward to the next time.

OHSU is built on the top of a mountain and is known as the "Mountain View Hospital". You can drive from downtown Portland or take the cable car called Tram from the bottom of the mountain directly to the hospital. It sounds quite romantic to have a cable car running in a city. A friend said that his daughter was studying in medical school and worked as a volunteer here during the summer. She took the cable car to and from get off work every day, which was fun and happy.

Warm waiting area

Arriving at the hospital at dusk, the outpatient clinic has ended. Standing on the balcony next to the waiting room and looking out, the winding mountain road winds down the mountain like a silver belt, and the charm of Portland slowly unfolds brightly in the lights of thousands of houses. A city doesn’t need to be too big. As long as it has mountains and water, it will definitely have a lively aura. It’s true.

Walking in the corridors of the hospital, watching and listening, is refreshing. Christmas has just passed and the lights on the Christmas tree are still twinkling. The large waiting area looks quiet and peaceful under the soft lighting. It is equipped with sofas, coffee tables, soft chairs, books, newspapers, magazines and televisions. This is more like the lobby of a five-star hotel than a hospital.

Passing by the emergency room, the door opened without warning, and two nurses rolled out a surgical cart with patients covered in tubes lying on their bodies. The reality of the dividing line between life and death makes people have no courage to take a second look, so they can only wish silently.

The Children's Hospital adjacent to OHSU has a richer atmosphere of life. If it weren't for the reminder of the metal rods hanging hanging pins on the wheelchairs for patients, the place would look like a children's paradise. It seems that if you stop at any time, you can play the piano, play with building blocks and so on.

There are many childlike paintings hanging in the corridor, some of which make people laugh, and some of which inspire children's innocence. The family lounge is like a warm reception room, equipped with sofas, coffee tables, TVs, water dispensers, and free laptops.

OHSU, Children's Hospital, and Veterans Affairs Hospital are separate but connected buildings with direct access from the top floors. It’s interesting to say that after visiting OHSU from Children’s Hospital, when I wanted to go back the same way, the automatic door would not open no matter what. In confusion, I bumped into a nurse passing by with a cart. After asking, a friend learned that this is a "one-way street" and an ID card is required to enter the Children's Hospital from OHSU. The nurse learned that our car was parked in front of the Children's Hospital and enthusiastically asked us to "check in" with her, saving us the trouble of going out from the main entrance of OHSU and taking a long detour to the parking lot.

I once heard something from a doctor in the United States about the American Veterans Hospital, and I was very curious. Why create a separate health care system for veterans? How is a VA hospital different from other hospitals? Where do doctors who work with disabled patients all day come from and what are their medical skills? My mind is filled with question marks one after another. Unexpectedly, the Portland Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System (VAPORHCS) is right next door to OHSU, and the two buildings are connected by a closed air corridor. This is really hard to find, and it takes no effort to get there.

Speaking of American Veterans Hospitals, you must first understand the American Veterans Day. There are many public holidays in the United States, such as New Year's Day, Martin Luther King's Birthday, Independence Day, Washington's Birthday, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, etc. Veterans Day (VA) is November 11. Various celebrations and commemorative activities are held across the country, such as the Veterans Day Parade on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York, and the commemorative ceremony beside the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., etc.

From the president to the citizens, all without exception pay tribute to veterans, especially those who have fought in all wars.

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was established in 1989. In terms of the number of employees, it is the second largest cabinet department after the U.S. Department of Defense. Some people say that American veterans are "tramps in tattered military uniforms", but now they enjoy world-class treatment. VA provides them with subsidies and subsidies including disability compensation benefits, pensions and tax benefits, establishes a specialized medical security system for them, funds their re-education and vocational training, and provides burial services after death. VA also pays them annual It will receive a budget from the government for veterans' health management, psychological treatment and services for female military personnel.

On the highways in the United States, you can often see signs with the word "VA" (please read it wrong, not AV), telling people how to get to the Veterans Hospital, which shows that veterans The number of military hospitals should not be small.

Along the corridor, you can stop and take a look. From the design style to the display of items, it is no different from OHSU or the pediatric hospital. It makes you feel like you are in the lounge area of ??an art museum or the lobby of a hotel. It seems that it has nothing to do with the hospital. Of course, this is just a superficial impression. I heard from a friend that when American veterans go to VA hospitals for medical treatment, the medical bills they pay are determined by the degree of disability. Generally speaking, if the disability index exceeds 50%, it is completely free, and the medical expenses between 10% and 40% are very small. Non-disabled veterans must pay a certain percentage of medical expenses when they receive medical treatment and physical examinations.

The Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center has 277 beds, 362 doctors, and 1,051 nurses. Last year, there were 90,351 outpatients and 7,444 surgeries were performed. My friend also said that many foreign doctors who hold U.S. medical licenses and work in U.S. hospitals on J1 visas will choose to volunteer at veterans hospitals to contribute to society after their employment expires in order to maintain the continuity of their work. While improving the level of medical skills, the "American Volunteer Spirit" advocated by American society has been fully and well reflected here.

Wrapped in the vast darkness of night, we embarked on our way home. After a few hours of walking around, I got a basic understanding of the Marquam Hill hospital cluster, which consists of OHSU Hospital, two famous pediatric hospitals, an eye center and Veterans Health Portland Medical Center.

In the era of information explosion, beautiful articles introducing how good Japanese hospitals are are often the target of public push, so there is no need to waste ink here. If we have to compare hospitals in Japan and the United States, take the corridor walls as an example. From my perspective, the texts, photos and paintings of the latter are dizzying.

The text is usually hospital introduction, health lectures and various information. From the management to the doctors, each hospital is introduced in great detail, and some even introduce the new residents in a grand manner. The faces of several Asian doctors aroused our curiosity, and we tried to determine which country they were from by their names, but the conclusion could only be a rough guess. Paintings in abstract or realistic styles make the hospital feel warm.

I remember taking the same elevator downstairs with a white woman in her thirties at a pediatric hospital. Seeing her carrying two big bulging bags, her friends greeted her warmly. She responded readily: Because her daughter is hospitalized here, she comes here once a day and brings a lot of things home to wash. I really like the conversation between strangers in Western society. It is cordial and natural, just like chatting with neighbors.

On my trip to the United States, I traveled among several cities, visited hospitals at every opportunity and wrote down my observations and opinions. I have to thank the "double-qualified" doctor who assigned me the task, and my friends for their enthusiastic guides.