1 in 3 beds meant for the critically ill fail to live up to expectations

Jul 03, 2022 | News On Japan

The acute care dilemma at Japan's hospitals

Jul 03, 2022 (Nikkei) - Nearly 35% of acute care beds in Japanese hospitals have failed to serve their intended purpose, a serious misallocation of human and financial resources, according to a study by Nikkei and the Japan Center for Economic Research.

Acute care refers to the services given to badly injured or severely ill patients; it forms the core of Japan's medical network, with about 60% of all beds available, excluding beds meant for patients with an infectious disease or in need of psychiatric care.

Acute care costs are much higher than those for other services because of the number of medical staff required. In some cases, basic hospitalization for urgent care costs 1.7 times more than that for convalescent, or recovery, care.

Hospitals have a strong financial incentive to have acute care units. Once these units meet certain staffing and other conditions, it is relatively easy to maintain their status. For hospitals, allocating more beds to urgent care makes financial sense, one observer said.

Yet as Japan's population ages, demand for recovery and other non-acute care is growing, and converting some beds meant for the badly injured has become unavoidable. ...continue reading

Toyota to Launch Self-Driving Taxis in 2027

Toyota Motor will begin operating fully autonomous taxis in 2027 through a partnership with U.S. self-driving technology company Waymo, marking a major step in the Japanese automaker's efforts to expand driverless transportation services.

Mount Fuji Puts on First Snowcap

Mount Fuji has received its first snowcap of the season, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced on October 30, after temperatures at the summit plunged to minus 9.4 degrees Celsius, marking the arrival of winter conditions on Japan's highest mountain.

Chinese Female Spy Suspected of Targeting Nvidia Chief

U.S. intelligence agencies suspect that a Chinese female intelligence operative developed a close relationship with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang in an attempt to obtain confidential corporate and U.S. government information, according to a report published by The New York Times on October 29th.

Japan Blocks Websites Leaking GMO Personal Data

The Japanese government has asked major telecommunications operators to forcibly block access to websites believed to contain personal information stolen in a cyberattack on GMO, it emerged on October 29th, as authorities moved to prevent further exposure of sensitive data online.

Typhoon No. 31 Heads Toward Japan's Remote Islands

Typhoon No. 31 was located near Minamitorishima Island in the Pacific Ocean, as of 3 a.m. on October 30, and was expected to approach the Ogasawara Islands south of Tokyo over the October 31-November 1 weekend while maintaining very strong intensity, bringing a growing risk of dangerously high waves, powerful swells and extremely rough seas.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Sci-Tech NEWS

First Parkinson's Patient Receives iPS Cell Treatment at Kyoto University Hospital

Japanese pharmaceutical company Sumitomo Pharma announced on October 30 that the first patient to receive its newly approved regenerative medicine treatment for Parkinson's disease underwent a successful brain cell transplant at Kyoto University Hospital in early October, with the woman in her 50s already returning to work and recovering well.

How Automated Port Cranes Are Reshaping Japan's Logistics Industry

Japan's ports have long been the backbone of one of the world's most export-driven economies.

New Garbage Station Messes With Crows

A company in Kagoshima has developed a new garbage collection station that uses specially shaped wires and rollers instead of conventional nets to prevent crows from scattering household waste, offering a cleaner and more convenient solution to a persistent problem in Japan's urban neighborhoods.

Why Phobos? Japan Targets Tiny Moon Over Mars

Japan has chosen a small, irregularly shaped moon orbiting Mars rather than the planet itself for its latest space exploration mission, taking advantage of Phobos' extremely weak gravity and lack of atmosphere to make collecting extraterrestrial samples and returning them to Earth far easier and less expensive, while potentially unlocking secrets about the history of Mars and the origins of water and organic materials in the solar system.

H3 Rocket Successfully Launches Mars Moon Probe

Japan's H3 rocket successfully launched the Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) spacecraft from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture on the morning of October 20th, placing the probe into its planned orbit in the first stage of a mission to collect samples from one of Mars' moons and return them to Earth.

JR West Unveils Humanoid Robots

JR West has unveiled multifunctional railway maintenance machinery, including a heavy-duty single-arm robot and a mass-produced humanoid robot, as part of efforts to address labor shortages and reduce workplace accidents in railway maintenance operations.

Subaru Unveils Advanced Driver Assistance System

Subaru unveiled experimental vehicles equipped with a new driver assistance system on October 18, introducing technology that can automatically guide a vehicle to a safe roadside location when the driver becomes incapacitated, with plans to introduce the system in production models by the late 2020s.

H3 Rocket on Mission to Collect Rocks From Mars Moon

Japan will launch its H3 rocket No. 10 from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 4:41 a.m. on October 20, carrying a spacecraft designed to collect rocks and sand from Phobos, one of Mars' two moons, and return them to Earth in what would be the world's first successful mission of its kind.

< 2 3 4 5 >