My situation is a long one, so I’ll give a brief gist of what’s important.
A family member of mine is currently in a local hospital, and I feel that over the months, the doctor-in-charge along with the hospital itself are taking actions that are dubious at best and illegal at worst. I am unable to discuss this with anyone within the hospital, as the higherups have cut me off completely and are refusing any communication.
I have tried to consult the police, the city hall, law firms, medical institutions, and numerous other places, and they all tell me that they “lack the medical-legal knowledge to make decisions on this matter.” and that I “should go talk to the doctor in charge about this.” which just loops back to my previous problem.
Is there a regulatory agency that overlooks and appropriately supervises doctors for dubious behavior? No one I talk to seems to even *know* what laws (if any) apply to doctors, and I would greatly appreciate it if I had the name, phone number, and basic information of an organization that I could talk to about regarding medical laws, potentially so that I can get some legal intervention, or at the very least some discussion.
Edit 1: In response to some of the commenters’ suggestions, I’d also like to know if anyone is aware of lawyers within the Miyazaki Prefecture, Saito area, who are either pro bono, commission only, or have a sliding scale payment system relative to income.
Edit 2: I have decided to share some more details regarding the situation. My family member is in a hospital where she was designated as palliative, so they are not trying to treat her to improve her condition, and we expect that she’ll die if she stays at that hospital in that mode. At this point, the hospital has stopped communicating with us, and we don’t believe that they’ll grant us anymore referrals. The last referral resulted in a rejection, which we strongly believe that her current doctor caused because of his conflict of interest (during a meeting with him, he accidentally revealed that if the patient died on the way to the other hospital, he would be held liable, and thus he doesn’t want her to go anywhere). So, we are looking for a way to get her out, and it looks like we need some kind of outside intervention. We expect that it’ll be hard to find a hospital to accept her, because most hospitals don’t want a patient who’s case is very difficult.
11 comments
Lawyer. The word you’re looking for is a lawyer. Specifically one that works on malpractice suits. He’ll be able to tell you if what’s going on is legal or not.
In Japan, doctors are kings. Even the health ministry listens to them. So, it’s a lawyer you need to seek.
Have you contacted Houterasu to see if they might be able to direct you to lawyers who are more flexible with payment and knowledgeable on the subject?
[https://legal.coconala.com/search/result?prefecture_id=45&sub_category_id=92](https://legal.coconala.com/search/result?prefecture_id=45&sub_category_id=92) Some of them have muryo soudan. You will need someone who speaks Japanese though with you.
To be honest the details are important here. Just because you have a hunch that things are weird does not mean they are. Having people hospitalized longer for example is not uncommon in Japan and it is just a matter of safety.
Get into Miyazaki city and make your way to the International Foundation [MIF] located in the Carino building B1 floor. They will have the resources available to help with support. They could possibly be able to provide information regarding a lawer as well.
I have been helped by them multiple times in the past. Be patient and I am sure they will be able to provide at least some level of assistance.
I was talking to my student, a lawyer, about this last week. He said there are many cases of medical malpractice but a little difficult to prove.
But, you need to meet with a lawyer that is your best option.
Why doesn’t the family member just request a transfer to another hospital?
The city or prefecture insurance office (保健所) for the jurisdiction the hospital is in would be the place to report malpractice.
This is not what you want to hear but doctors in Japan are considered almost untouchable and answerable to no one (even more so than other countries). They are “sensei” and basically no one has the right to question their judgement. They can even practice fields of medicine outside the bounds of their discipline so long as they claim to be studying that particular issue. You’d be best focusing your energies and finances on moving your family member to a more responsive facility rather than trying to take on the medical establishment. Any lawyer willing to take the case is playing you for your money.
Is your family member in a psychiatric hospital?
How did your family member get in? Is it under 医療保護入院 system?
What type of Hospital?
(University, private or Governmental)
The palliative Treatment here in Japan is a Disaster and everyone knows that.
First you need someone who is able to speak your and the Patients native Language and Japanese.
Is your Relative still able to communicate?