Takura Tomoyuki
Department of Healthcare Economics and Health Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 May 29;18(11):5837. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18115837.
This study proposes a method for calculating the appropriate medical treatment price level for foreign visitors (FVs) in Japan. Hospital management costs and foreign prices were analyzed from a market principles perspective to determine the medical treatment price. The study involved two stages: a preliminary survey and an extended survey, supplemented by an international survey. Relatively frequent diseases were selected, and the costs incurred by hospitals for the treatment of FVs were analyzed though data from three hospitals, covering 24 outpatients and 4 inpatients. Payments made by three insurance companies for overseas medical institution services for Japanese tourists with pharyngitis were analyzed. This study shows that the appropriate medical treatment prices for FVs, considering profits, were 1.22-4.26 times higher compared with prices under Japan's public health insurance plans. Furthermore, these prices were 1.31-4.26 times higher for outpatients with pharyngitis and external injury and 1.22-3.66 times higher for inpatients with appendicitis and femoral fractures. The price of pharyngitis treatment in 12 countries was USD 20.32-158.75 per patient for Japanese tourists, whereas FVs paid 60.24 dollars (1.13 times higher than Japan's public healthcare price) in Japan. This study shows it was appropriate to set the ideal price level for FVs higher than that for Japanese patients.
本研究提出了一种计算日本外国游客（FV）适当医疗价格水平的方法。从市场原则的角度分析医院管理成本和国外价格，以确定医疗价格。该研究包括两个阶段：初步调查和扩展调查，并辅以国际调查。选择了相对常见的疾病，通过三家医院的数据（涵盖24名门诊患者和4名住院患者）分析了医院治疗FV的成本。分析了三家保险公司为患有咽炎的日本游客支付的海外医疗机构服务费用。本研究表明，考虑到利润，FV的适当医疗价格比日本公共医疗保险计划下的价格高出1.22至4.26倍。此外，咽炎和外伤门诊患者的这些价格高出1.31至4.26倍，阑尾炎和股骨骨折住院患者的价格高出1.22至3.66倍。对于日本游客，12个国家咽炎治疗的价格为每位患者20.32美元至158.75美元，而FV在日本支付60.24美元（比日本公共医疗价格高1.13倍）。本研究表明，为FV设定高于日本患者的理想价格水平是合适的。
