To new OISTers
Welcome to OIST!
This page provides you with basic information on health and medicine that you may need before/after coming to Okinawa/Japan.
Choose a clinic/hospital by symptoms
We have Free Access to any medical institutions in Japan. You choose a department based on your symptoms and find a clinic/hospital with that department. Hospitals with 200 or more beds such as prefectural hospitals and university hospitals generally require a referral letter from a local clinic before obtaining the initial appointment. (excluding emergency rooms).
You can search English-available local clinics/hospital information at a webpage provided by Okinawa International Exchnage&Human Resources Foundation. Please contact OIST Health Center if you need more information prior to your arrival.
Cost of Medical Care
All OIST employees, students, and dependents are covered by private school mutual aid or national health insurance in Japan except short-term visitors. You are required to pay only 30% of medical expense, by showing your health insurance card at a reception of clinic/hospital. In case that you visited a clinic before getting an insurance card and paid in full, you can apply for refund.
Treatments that are not covered by health insurance such as cosmetic surgery, orthodontics and treatments performed at your request, not at the doctor's discretion, are 100% self-paid.
Medication
The regulation of OTC (over-the-counter) medicine may differ depending on countries. OTC medicine in your country might needs a prescription by a physician in Japan.
Some of the non-prescribed （OTC medications) in other countries can be also illegal in Japan. Specifically, products that contain stimulants (medicines that contain Pseudoephedrine, such as Actifed, Sudafed, and Vicks inhalers), or Codeine (can be found in painkillers, cough medicine, cold medicine…etc) are prohibited if it contains more than allowed quantity of stimulant raw materials. If you are considering to bring those medicines, please ask your medical professional if you can get any substitute in Japan or please contact OIST Health Center prior to your departure.
Birth control pill needs a prescription in Japan. This cannot be covered by health insurance unless you have any diagnosis such as dysmenorrhea and endometriosis so on.
If you are undergoing any treatment in your country, please bring a doctor's note with your treatmentr history and one-month supply of your medication at least. Please read Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's webpage for more details for the procedure of bringing medication (including OTC medications) from your country.
Please note that you might have to wait for a few months to setup your first appointment with a specialist such as a psychiatrist, endocrinologist especially when you do not speak Japanese.
Vaccination
There is no vaccination that is legally required to enter Japan, but it is desirable to complete the routine vaccination in Japan in advance. Basically health insurance does NOT cover vaccinations for adult.
| Routine Vaccination in Japan | |||
| BCG 結核 | |||
| Rotavirus ロタウィルス | |||
| Measles 麻疹 | Could be administered as MR | ||
| Rubella 風疹 | |||
| Japanese Encephalitis 日本脳炎 | |||
| Diphtheria ジフテリア | Could be administered as DPT-IPV/OPV | Could be administered as T-dap | Could be administered as DT |
| Tetanus 破傷風トキソイド | |||
| Pertussis 百日咳 | |||
| Polio ポリオ (IPV: Inactivated or OPV:Oral) | |||
| Streptococcus pneumoniae(13-valent conjugate) 肺炎球菌(13価結合型） | |||
| Hepatitis B B型肝炎 | |||
| Chicken Pox (Varicella) 水痘 | |||
| Hib インフルエンザ菌b型 | |||
For New PhD students
Students are strongly recommended to submit an immunization record to OIST health center.
The purposes of this record are
- to provide appropriate information in case of any infectious desease outbreak
- to understatd your own vaccination history and take appropriate actions
- to help you when you go abroad in the future during your PhD program at OIST
Pleaes fill out this form before entering OIST and submit it here, secured by Giga CC, file transfer system.
OIST health center appreciates your understanding and corporation in advance.
Health Checkups
In Japan, students and employees are legally required to take annual health checkups. All new OISTers are requested to attend the closest scheduled group health checkups on campus from their arrival.
Please contact OIST Health Center if you need health checkups sooner than the schedule of the closest group health checkups for the following reasons such as...
- To start attending field work project
- To confirm health condition when you have any concerning symptoms after your arrival such as prolonged cough,etc (In this case the Health Center will setup a visit to a clinic for you.)
| Items of the Health Checkups at OIST | Details |
|---|---|
| Health assessment by a physician |
Past medical history and work history (including the history of smoking and medication) |
| Physical measurement | Height, weight, waist circumference |
| Vital signs | Blood pressure, pulse rate |
| Visual acuity | Unaided visual acuity and corrected visual acuity of right and left eyes |
| Hearing | At 1000 Hz and 4000 Hz for right and left ears |
| Chest X-ray | Direct photography |
| ECG | 12-lead |
| Blood test | Red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, MCV, MCH, MCHC,white blood cell count, platelet count, triglyceride, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, fasting blood glucose, Hemoglobin A1c, GOT, GPT, γ-GTP, total bilirubin, LDH, uric acid, creatinine, e-GFR |
| Urinalysis | Protein, occult blood, urine sugar, pH, specific gravity, urobilinogen, ketone |
Also we will request you to take an eye checkup if you will be using lasers at work. As all the new students have possibility of using lasers as part of their PhD lotation program too, they are requested to attend the group laser safety eye checkup on campus after their arival. Please note that the annual health checkups and the laser safety eye checkup are mandatory. We will inform you further information after your arrival.
Special Health Screening
If you are planning to regulary use hazardous materials/ engage in hazardous works, such as organic solvents, specified chemical substances, ionizing radiation, lead, lasers, acidic chemicals, submergence, etc as part of your research at OIST, you will be required to take special health screening. Please check with your supervisor if you have any relevant works, and if applicable, please notify the OIST Health Center through your supervisor.
Other considerations
- The closest drug store and local medical facility are about 10 minutes by a car from campus.
- Currently there are no medical facilities with English speaking staffs which you can take free STI (sexually transmitted infections) checkups around OIST. You can take STI checkups at a local clinic/hospital and each items cost about few thousands yen plus a consultation fee. Health insurance does not cover them without any STI symptoms.
Please do not hesitate to contact us prior to your departure if you have any concerns/questions.
Please keep yourself in good condition prior to your brand new start in Okinawa. We are looking forward to seeing you soon:)
OIST Health Center Email health@oist.jp