To foreigners living in Japan:
Prescription of medicines
There are over-the-counter (OTC) drugs and prescription drugs.
OTC drugs are purchasable at drug stores without a medical prescription. In contrast, prescription drugs are only available with a valid prescription.
In the Medical Practitioner Act of Japan, a doctor can issue a prescription if the doctor finds it is necessary after performing a consultation. The type and dosage of prescribed medications are decided according to the diagnosis and condition of a patient. Therefore, prescribed medications should only be taken as prescribed. They should not be stocked without a doctor’s advice, shared or given to other people.
In Japan, hospitals do not sell drugs.
RGMC does not accept patients who only wish to obtain a prescription without seeing a doctor.
On your initial visit to the hospital:
- We have staff stationed at the general information counter on the 2nd Floor who are happy to assist you whenever you need help.
- We advise that you ask your primary care doctor to provide you with a referral letter and arrange your appointment with us beforehand.
Patients without a referral letter will be charged an additional elective fee of 7,000 yen＋tax aside from the consultation fee.
Emergency hours:
Weekdays : from 5 pm to 8:45 am of the following day
Off hours : from 12 am to 12 pm
Weekend and Holidays : Saturday, Sunday, Public holidays and New Year holidays(12/29-1/3) - What you need to bring
Registration time for new patients:
- Days：Monday through Friday
- Time：8：00 to 11：00
Obstetrics & Gynecology 8：00 to 11：30 - Closed：Saturdays, Sundays, Holiday, Year-end & New year（12/29～1/3）
Flow of outpatient clinic
- Ａ.Reception
※For first-time visiting patients: Please ask assisstance at the General Information Counter.
- Ｂ.From consultation to payment
- ※How to get your prescription
Medical fee
- Payment:
You will be required to pay the full amount of your medical bill if you forgot to bring your Japanese health insurance card to the hospital. The part which your insurer should cover will be reimbursed to you at the cashier when you present your insurance card. - You can pay by cash or by credit cards. The following credit cards are accepted. Debit cards and electronic money are not accepted.
VISA MasterCard JCB AMERICANEXPRESS Nicos 銀聯
Medical interpreter Service
- Medical interpreters are provided free of charge to patients with limited Japanese proficiency. （Medical interpreters are available on days marked with 〇）
※Remote interpreting (telephone or video with call centers ) may be used for other languages.Mon. Tue. Wed. Thur. Fri. Sat. Sun. Time English 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 － － From 10 a.m.
to
3 p.m.Chinese 〇 〇 〇 〇 〇 － － Spanish － 〇 － 〇 － － － Portuguese － 〇 － 〇 － － －
※Wait time for an interpreter may take longer during busy hours or when the interpreter has to handle multiple patients at the same time.
※Also, the number of interpreter in the hospital is limited, so requests for gender preference may not be met. - Risk on use of untrained interpreters in medical settings
We may use the hospital’s designated and trained medical interpreter even if a patient has brought in his/her own interpreter or someone who is proficient in Japanese. There is a risk of misinterpretation due to lack of knowledge in medical terminologies when a non-trained interpreter is used to interpret during the consultation.
Medical certificates and referral letters
- Translation service is available in English only.
- Price : \15,000 + tax per document
- A translated document may take longer to issue than Japanese documents due to translation process.
- We do not provide translation service for documents issued by other medical institutions.
Physical examination
- We have private comprehensive physical examination(Ningen Dock). For details please see in Japanese only.
- There are free health check-up sponsored by companies and by the local government in the area of residence. Please inqure at your workplace or your city office for specific details.
- For comprehensive(Ningen Dock) and regular physical examination, the hospital will choose and arrange an interpreter at a charge for persons who are not able to speak Japanese during the consultation to ensure effective and accurate communication. Persons other than the hospital's designated interpreters are not accepted as translators for physical examinations.
Interpreter fee
Comprehensive physical examination(Ningen Dock)：\11,250＋consumption tax
Other physical examination：\6,750＋consumption tax
Contact info. and others
- Patients with appointment are seen first. Patients without appointment may wait longer.
- Waiting numbers for consultation may change or jump depending on patient's condition or severity of illness. We appreciate your understanding.
- Medical lawsuits are processed in Japanese courts and Japanese law is applied.
- If you wish to know whether you can consult us or not or if you have any questions, please feel free to contact:
Department of International Medical Care
e-mail: g-kokusai($)rgmc.izumisano.osaka.jp
※ Please replace ($) with @
TEL：072-469-3111- When you make an inquiry, please let us know below information together with the content of your inquiry.
- ①Hospital ID No.(In case of revisit):
- ②Name:
- ③Age:
- ④Sex:
- ⑤Language:
- ⑥Japanese public insurance:
- ⑦Current address: Country & City
- ⑧Contact number:
- If you are inquiring about seeing a doctor, please describe your symptoms in detail, including since when, what parts of the body, and how they have been affected.
- Japan’s Health Insurance System
- The Japan Obstetric Compensation System for Cerebral Palsy
