Investigation of Medical Accidents: Improve The System So That Fairness Is Ensured
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry has begun discussions by a panel of experts on how to improve the safety of medical services. According to the ministry, the panel aims to decide on the course of its discussions by this autumn.
The focus of the talks will be issues related to the medical accident investigation system.
The investigation system was introduced in October 2015, following revisions to the Medical Service Law. It requires medical institutions to conduct internal investigations and report to third-party organizations when a patient dies unexpectedly at a medical institution.
The system is aimed at preventing the recurrence of medical accidents. There is a great significance in using investigations for improving the quality and safety of medical services. They will also help address the concerns of bereaved families, who want to know the truth when a fatal accident occurs.
However, this system has repeatedly been criticized for its problems. Since the decision whether to identify an incident as a medical accident is left to the discretion of the head of the medical institution, many facilities are reluctant to conduct investigations.
At Kobe Tokushukai Hospital in Kobe, a number of patients died following catheter-based therapies for the heart and other organs, but the hospital did not conduct a thorough investigation. After receiving a whistleblower report, the Kobe municipal government conducted an on-site inspection of the hospital two years ago, and an investigation based on the system was finally carried out.
Disputes between medical institutions and bereaved families also persist. It is necessary to establish a mechanism where third-party organizations urge medical institutions to carry out investigations and make reports, rather than leaving the matter solely to the autonomy of medical institutions. It is also important to provide clear criteria for determining which cases are covered under the system.
There is also the challenge of ensuring the quality and fairness of investigations.
In a case involving the sudden death of a patient who underwent an endoscopy at Juntendo University Hospital in Tokyo, the hospital's internal investigation found no issues. However, a third-party investigation carried out at the request of the bereaved family concluded that the procedure was 'difficult to describe as appropriate.'
If medical institutions cannot be trusted regarding the results of their own investigations, the system cannot be said to be functioning properly. It is essential for the government and the medical community to collaborate to establish and promote reliable investigation methods and to make the system more widely used.
Another issue that has been raised is the fact that investigations are not conducted unless a patient dies.
Medical treatments inherently carry risks, and having no accidents is almost impossible. Therefore, it is the responsibility of medical institutions to deal with medical accidents squarely and make every effort to prevent recurrence.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 20, 2025)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Times
2 days ago
- Japan Times
Japan's oldest person dies at 114
Japan's oldest person, Miyoko Hiroyasu, died Tuesday at the age of 114, according to sources including the health ministry. Hiroyasu, from the city of Nakatsu in Oita Prefecture, was born in January 1911. She became the oldest living person in Japan in May this year, following the death of another 114-year-old woman from the town of Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture. The cause of Hiroyasu's death has not been disclosed. Shigeko Kagawa, a 114-year-old resident of Yamatokoriyama, a city in Nara Prefecture, is now the oldest living person in the country. She was born in May 1911.
2 days ago
Japan's Oldest Person Dies at 114
News from Japan Society Jul 31, 2025 09:23 (JST) Tokyo, July 31 (Jiji Press)--Japan's oldest person, Miyoko Hiroyasu, died Tuesday at the age of 114, sources including the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry have said. Hiroyasu, from the city of Nakatsu in the southwestern prefecture of Oita, was born in January 1911. She became the oldest living person in Japan in May this year, following the death of another 114-year-old woman from the town of Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan. The cause of Hiroyasu's death has not been disclosed. Shigeko Kagawa, a 114-year-old resident of Yamatokoriyama, a city in the western prefecture of Nara, is now the oldest living person in the country. She was born in May 1911. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Japan Times
4 days ago
- Japan Times
In the Philippines, informal e-waste dismantling poses health risks
Dexter Barsigan has spent the past 13 years making a living with his bare hands and a pair of pliers, stripping scrapped laptops and air conditioners for metal he can sell to junk shops in the Philippines. But since his hands began aching and his vision started to blur three years ago, there have been days he can only watch his wife and nephew do the job for him. The 47-year-old father of three is a mambabaklas, the Filipino word for informal dismantlers who scavenge electronic waste for the nickel, aluminum and copper inside. "Dismantling helps us put food on the table. It provides the money to send my kids to school," Barsigan said while sitting along a kilometer-long stretch of Onyx Street, home to hundreds of fellow "e-waste" dismantlers. Their work frequently involves burning away rubber wire casings, releasing a toxic brew of chemicals including lead, mercury and cadmium into the air. Both the Philippine government and the Basel Convention, a global waste-management treaty signed by 191 countries, consider e-waste hazardous. "It poses serious threats to human health and the environment," said Irvin Cadavona, a hazardous waste management officer with the environment department, citing health risks ranging from cancer and neurological diseases to respiratory illnesses and birth defects. The World Health Organization said last year exposure to e-waste chemicals can lead to asthma and reduced lung function in children, while pregnant women are at higher risk for stillbirths and premature delivery. "It's very hard to recycle these (chemicals). When you dismantle (e-waste), you must intricately break it down. It can be very hazardous," said Gelo Apostol, an environmental health specialist from Ateneo de Manila University. Exposure to the substances can lead to anemia, kidney and thyroid diseases, and nerve damage, he said. The Philippines is among the top e-waste generators in Southeast Asia, according to the United Nations' Global E-waste Monitor, accounting for 540 million kilograms in 2022. Dismantlers who work at the country's accredited facilities are required to follow stringent guidelines. But their informal counterparts lack the training, regulations and protective equipment needed to properly protect themselves. "I strongly believe that some Filipinos are getting sick because of the exposure to e-waste," Cadavona said. Burning rubber Barsigan, who doesn't wear a mask while working, prefers dismantling computer circuit boards with aluminum and copper because they fetch as much as 470 Philippine pesos ($8) per kilo. But circuit boards have especially high concentrations of toxic metals that can cause nerve damage when breathed in, Apostol said. While illegal, Onyx Street's e-waste dismantlers also routinely burn wires to extract copper, which is faster than peeling them by hand. Rosalie Sedantes strips parts from discarded electronic equipment in Manila on June 26. Her husband, Dexter Barsigan, has developed health issues after years of dismantling scavenged electronic waste. | AFP-JIJI Rosana Milan, physician-in-charge at Manila's Pedro Gil Health Center, said her clinic has diagnosed half of the 12,000 people living along the street with respiratory issues, most of them children. "It's very risky for the babies, the toddlers and even the school children ... they're sitting beside their father while the father is ... burning the rubber," Milan said. "Mostly they have pneumonia, upper and lower respiratory illness, even if they have vaccines." Dismantler Sammy Oligar said his one-year-old grandchild had been diagnosed with pneumonia that a doctor attributed to pollution caused by the burning. "The smoke would enter from our window and the child would inhale it," Oligar said, adding that many of his neighbors were dealing with lung illnesses. 'What are we waiting for?' Medicins du Monde (MdM), a French humanitarian organization providing gloves, masks and safety orientations for the dismantlers of Onyx Street, is calling for the recognition of informal e-waste workers. "Health is clearly not their first priority. Their priority is to have food on the table," said Eva Lecat, general coordinator of MdM. "If (their work) was legal and recognized and regulated, there would be ways to protect people and communities." Cadavona, the waste management officer, said the informal nature of the picker-junkshop relationship made it "very hard" to establish formal recognition for the community. Apostol, the faculty researcher, said an "evidence gap" created by the lack of studies specific to dismantlers might be contributing to a lack of urgency. "But remember, many of the chemicals found in e-waste already have extensive studies on their health effects," Apostol said. "What are we waiting for? To have nationwide data of people who died from e-waste before we take action?" Worried he will be unable to afford treatment, Barsigan said he has avoided doctors, instead putting ointment on his hands and taking a cheap, over-the-counter pain reliever. Once his hands feel a little better, he said, he will put them back to work. "If I stop dismantling, it's as if I have also given up the hope of a better life for my children."
