Medical Care Act

The purpose of this Act is to contribute to the protection of the health of the nation by safeguarding the interests of medical care recipients and ensuring a system that efficiently delivers high quality and well-suited medical care, by means of providing for the necessary particulars to support well-suited choices about medical care by the recipients thereof, the necessary particulars to ensure the safety of medical care, the necessary particulars concerning the establishment and management of hospitals, clinics, and birthing centers, and the necessary particulars to develop such facilities and promote the sharing of functions and cooperation between medical institutions.

Medical care is to be provided in accordance with the physical and mental state of the medical care recipient, based on a relationship of trust between the physician, dentist, pharmacist, nurse, or other medical care professional and the medical care recipient, in a way which respects life and ensures the dignity of the individual, and not only the medical treatment, but including measures to prevent illness and rehabilitation measures must also be of high quality and well-suited.

Medical care must be provided as a basis for efforts to ensure and improve the health of the nation, fully respecting the wishes of the medical care recipients, and seeking efficiency and organic coordination among associated services such as welfare services, in accordance with the functions of the medical institutions (hereinafter referred to as "medical institutions"), in hospitals, clinics, long-term care health facilities, integrated facilities for medical and long-term care, dispensing pharmacies, and other facilities that provide medical care, and in the homes of medical care recipients (meaning a home and other place specified by an Order of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; the same applies hereinafter).

The national and local governments must endeavor to ensure a system that will efficiently provide high quality and well-suited medical care to the people based on the concepts provided in the preceding Article.

Physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, and other medical care professionals must endeavor to deliver high quality and well-suited medical care to medical care recipients, based on the concepts provided for in Article 1-2.

In providing medical care, a physician, dentist, pharmacist, nurse or other medical care professional must give proper explanations and endeavor to foster understanding in medical care recipients.

Physicians and dentists practicing at a medical institution, when necessary, must refer medical care recipients to other medical institutions, provide information concerning diagnoses or prescriptions as required for the treatment of medical care recipients to physicians, dentists, or pharmacists engaged in diagnoses or prescriptions at other medical institutions, and must undertake other measures as required to contribute to a sharing of functions and cooperation among medical institutions.

In the case that a patient leaving a hospital or clinic continues to require medical treatment, the administrator of the relevant hospital or clinic must seek cooperation with providers of health and medical services or welfare services, and have the consideration to enable the relevant patient to continue receiving medical treatment in an appropriate environment.

The establishers and administrators of a medical institution must have consideration to allow physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, and other medical care professionals who do not work at the relevant medical institution to use the buildings or equipment thereof in order to carry out their practices, research, or training, to foster the dissemination of medical care techniques, and to efficiently provide medical care.

The term "hospital" as used in this Act means a facility for the hospitalization of not less than 20 patients, where physicians or dentists carry out medical practices or dental practices for the public or other specific groups of people. A hospital must be organized and operated primarily for offering facilities that enable the scientific and proper treatment of the sick and injured.

The term "clinic" as used in this Act means a facility with no in-patient capacity (excluding a facility for receiving online medical care), or a facility for the hospitalization of 19 patients or less, where physicians or dentists carry out medical practices or dental practices for the public or other specific groups of people.

The term "long-term care health facility" as used in this Act means a long-term care health facility pursuant to the provisions of the Long-Term Care Insurance Act (Act No. 123 of 1997).

The term "integrated facility for medical and long-term care" as used in this Act means an integrated facility for medical and long-term care pursuant to the provisions of the Long-Term Care Insurance Act.

The term "birthing center" as used in this Act means a place where midwives perform services (excluding those carried out in a hospital or clinic) for the public or other specific groups of people.

A birthing center is not to have in-patient facilities for more than 10 pregnant women, women in labor, or women resting after childbirth.

The term "online medical care" as used in this Act means medical care provided by a method that uses an electronic data processing system connecting, by telecommunications line, a computer used by a physician or dentist (including input/output devices; the same applies hereinafter in this paragraph) and a computer used by a patient, and that enables the physician or dentist and the patient at a remote location to talk with each other while mutually recognizing each other's condition, through the transmission and reception of video and audio.

The term "facility for receiving online medical care" as used in this Act means a facility that the founder of the facility provides, as a business, to a hospital, clinic, long-term care health facility or integrated facility for medical and long-term care at which a physician or dentist who provides online medical care works, as a place where patients receive the online medical care that the physician or dentist provides.

No place that carries out the medical treatment of illnesses (including birthing assistance) and that is not a hospital or clinic is to bear a name that includes the term "hospital", "branch hospital", "maternity hospital", "sanatorium", "clinic", "dispensary", "doctor's office", or any other name that may cause it to be mistaken for a hospital or clinic.

No clinic is to bear a name that includes the term "hospital", "branch hospital", "maternity hospital", or any other name that may cause it to be mistaken for a hospital.

A facility which is not a birthing center must not bear a name that includes the term "birthing center" or any other name that may cause it to be mistaken for a place where midwives perform services.

A facility which is not a facility for receiving online medical care must not bear a name that includes the term "facility for receiving online medical care" or any other name that may cause it to be mistaken for a facility for receiving online medical care.