stay healthy
Englishwhen you get sick
Go to the hospital
When you go to the hospital, be sure to take your National Health Insurance Card with you and present it at the reception desk. The current health insurance card will no longer be issued after December 2, 2024. Your health insurance card can be used for up to one year until its expiration date. Before your current health insurance card expires, you will receive a "Qualification Confirmation Certificate" free of charge. (You do not need to apply for it yourself.) Your health insurance card or qualification confirmation certificate can be used throughout Japan, so please take it with you when you travel. If you go to the hospital without your health insurance card or qualification confirmation certificate and pay the full amount, you can take the receipt and statement issued by the hospital and your National Health Insurance card to the city hall or ward office where you are registered as a resident and go through the procedure. After an examination, 70% of the medical expenses you paid will be refunded. It is prohibited by law to use someone else's health insurance card or qualification confirmation certificate, or to lend or buy your own health insurance card or qualification confirmation certificate to others. Violation will be punished. If it is your first time going to the hospital or you do not understand much Japanese, it is best to go to the hospital with a tutor or a Japanese friend, if possible.
Hokkaido Medical Institutions with Foreign Language Support (Hokkaido HP)
Volunteer medical interpreters
NPO SEMI Sapporo (English)
SEMI is a group that dispatches medical interpreters for foreigners in Sapporo. You can apply for an interpreter when you want to go to the hospital from the website below.
http://semi-sapporo.com/
SCI (Sapporo Chinese Medical Interpretation Group) (Chinese)
We provide medical interpretation support services for Chinese international students. You can contact us by email.
Hokkaido University Health Care Center
Health Care Center on the Hokkaido University Sapporo Campus offers health checkups, health consultations, emergency medical care, and referrals to other medical institutions.
Consultation hours
kinds | Medical department | day of week | time reservation |
---|---|---|---|
medical treatment | internal medicine | Mon-Fri | 13:00-15:30 (examination starts at 13:30) Internal medicine consultations are on a first-come, first-served basis, so reservations cannot be made. Phone: 011-706-5484 |
medical treatment | Mental health consultation | Mon-Fri | 13:00-15:30 (examination starts at 13:00) Telephone reservation is required. Phone: 011-706-5418 |
health consultation | dental consultation | Mon-Fri |
Reservation is required from the website (can only be done from a computer on campus). Conducted at the Dental Counseling Room on the 1st floor of the Faculty of Dentistry. Punctuality. |
counseling | – | Mon-Fri | If you would like to have counseling services, please receive a mental health consultation first. |
Various health consultations | Women's health consultation | – | Reservation required by phone. Tel: 011-706-5484 (internal medicine) |
Various health consultations | nutrition consultation | – | Reservation required by phone. Tel: 011-706-5484 (internal medicine) |
Expenses in case of illness
If you are enrolled in the National Health Insurance, you can receive medical treatments for 30% of the actual medical expenses.
In addition, there is a maximum amount of self-payment for monthly medical expenses according to income. If you incur high medical expenses such as surgery or hospitalization, you may be able to reduce medical expenses that exceed your monthly co-payment limit by applying for the “High-Cost Medical Expenses” system.
Notes
- Application procedures are required.
- Once the application is submitted, you will need to pay the entire amount at the hospital counter. After completing the procedures, you will be directly reimbursed for medical expenses that exceed your copayment limit.
- For details, please contact the city or ward office.
Place of application
Local city/ward office
Required documents
① Health insurance card or certificate of eligibility ② Receipt ③ Seal ④ Bank account passbook
Joint Guarantor Program for Hospitalization of International Students
In Japan, you may need a joint guarantor when you are hospitalized.
The "Joint Guarantor Program for Hospitalization of International Students" is a program in which the university provides institutional guarantees when international students require a joint guarantor when they are hospitalized.
This program is a part of the program of "Hokkaido University International Student Supporters Association". For details such as procedures, please contact the Student Support Division (1A window on the 1st floor of Institute for the Advancement of Higher Education).
Guaranty System for Hospitalization / Required documents
Form 1 Guaranty System Application of International Student Hospitalization
Medical checkups
Medical checkups for students who enter in April are conducted in April or May, and those for students who enter in October are conducted in November. In addition, medical checkups for current students other than new students are conducted in April and May each year.
Hokkaido University Health Care Center Medical checkup Information (Students)
*Medical checkup for 2020 was postponed.
To prevent disease, be sure to have a physical examination at least once each year.
Those who have undergone a university medical checkup can have their health certificate issued at the university's Automatic Certificate Issuing Machine (ACM)【Japanese】.
Health insurance
Please refer to the necessary insurance for student life.
Vaccination
Please refer to the information provided by the health and welfare ministries and agencies of your country of origin for information on vaccination for travel to and from Japan.