Arisa will be 3 years old soon so it’s almost time for her physical examination 検診（けんしん）. The ward office 区役所 (くやくしょ) sends out letters and appropriate forms (all in Japanese of course- I will make a note if they start sending forms in other languages) to parents of all the children this age to prepare them for the child’s free health exam. Everyone can go to one of the Public Health Centers in their ward on a certain date and time. It’s a bit tedious because it is on a first come first serve basis and if you aren’t early enough, you could end up waiting a long time. In any case, it is usually an all morning affair, since you are there with all the other children the same age from your ward (for example all the same age kids in Park Slope, Brooklyn). But, it can be interesting to see all the other children the same age as your son or daughter. If you also mentally prepare yourself to wait and spend at least 2-3 hours there, then it won’t be so bad.
I experienced a couple of these check-ups already when we first arrived. The doctors and nurses were confused by the kids health records since we didn’t have the standard mother and child health handbook 母子手帳 (ぼしてちょう） which all mothers receive when they are pregnant. This book tracks the health of the mother during pregnancy and throughout the babies first 4 years. It’s a rather good system, I think, since it allows a mother to see her own pregnancy progress as well as her baby’s after the birth. In NY, on my visits after the OB, there were no written notes for me to keep track of each month’s developments. After Keiji was born, his health book was merely a yellow car to keep track of his vaccines. And this is for private health care facilities that we must pay for, even with insurance. Our health records were not as organized, all written in English and had notes on more vaccinations than what is required in Japan.
So going back to the health check up…..when you arrive at the health center, you sign in and hand in the forms that were sent to you in the mail. You take your child’s temperature and wait for your name to be called. You go to one room where they check your child’s height and weight and take measurements. Then you go back to the waiting lounge until your name is called once more. The doctors then meet with you to check your forms (from the mail) and the child’s health book and makes not of everything- height, weight, what milestones your child has reached for their age, vaccination updates and any health issues you want to bring up. After this you go back to the waiting lounge and wait for your name to be called again – to see the dentist. This is the last part of the visit and you can be on your way.
Health check-ups and doctors visits for the kids is very different from what I remember in NY. Since children here (I think up to the age of 12 years) can receive health check-ups and medicine free of charge under health insurance coverage, most parents take their children to clinics at any time and for any reason. If a child has a fever or a cough, they can go to a clinic nearby to get a check-up and prescription for medicine and pick up the medicine at a pharmacy usually a few steps away from the clinic, all free of charge.
I don’t really know which system is better. Of course there are good and bad points to each. I just am glad they can have access to health care.