Japanese Health Care -- A System That Works

November 5, 2009
04:00PM - 06:00PM, Alumni Center, 200 Fletcher Street, Ann Arbor

Host Department: Center for Japanese Studies (CJS)

Panel discussion

Further Information

Overview: As Americans debate health care reform, many are discovering that other countries have done much better. Japan probably has the healthiest population in the world, and the least expensive health care system among advanced nations. Some of the reasons are cultural and social, but clearly health care policy--which has aimed to provide insurance for virtually everyone--has played a big role as well. This panel examines how the Japanese model works and the consequences of its success.


Featured Panelists:

T.R. Reid is one of the nation's best-known reporters through his coverage of global affairs for The Washington Post, his books and documentary films, and his light-hearted commentaries on National Public Radio. He is also author of the recent book, The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care (Penguin Press, 2009). Mr. Reid was also CJS's Toyota Visiting Professor in 1997.

John Creighton Campbell is emeritus professor of political science at U-M, where he taught from 1973 until 2007. He specializes in Japanese politics in general, organizational decision-making, and social policy. He recently served as a visiting professor at the Institute of Social Science, Tokyo University, and then as a visiting professor of health policy at the Keio University Medical School. Currently, he is a visiting scholar at the Institute of Gerontology at Tokyo University. His research these days centers on Japanese policy for the elderly, particularly long-term care, as well as broader social policy concerns in Japan and beyond.

Susan Orpett Long is a professor of anthropology at John Carroll University. Her research interests include comparative medical systems, family change, care of the elderly, women's lives, and the cross-cultural study of bioethical issues. She is the author of Final Days: Japanese Culture and Choice at the End of Life (University of Hawaii Press, 2005) and Family Changing and the Life Course (Cornell University East Asia Papers, 1987).

Moderator:
Michael Fetters, M.D., M.P.H., M.A. is an associate professor in the U-M Department of Family Medicine. He is also the Director of the Japanese Family Health Program and the Family Medicine Ethics Curriculum. Dr. Fetters' clinical interests include the care of patients from other cultures while his research interests focus on improved delivery of preventive services through primary care, the influence of culture on medical decision-making, and mixed methods research.

Contact Information: umcjs@umich.edu; 734.764.6307