In the morning I went to a nearby hospital to cut a small verruca on my neck. The hospital is old one but a big scale scrap-and- build was completed early this year. I was impressed by finding that computers were widely used for managing hospital.
Both of the reception of patients and the payment to hospital by patients are made by automatic machines. Test results of blood or urine are electronically sent to a display of your doctor in time for his diagnosis if you get tests about thirty minutes before you meet your doctor. The doctor can get not only the test results of today but those in past in a table by moving a mouse. While he is observing test data, some times together with his patient, he makes diagnosis of his patient. If necessary, he writes a prescription for disease on computer. When you pay all charges on the automatic machine, you get not only a receipt of payment but an exchange ticket for medicines. You can get them without waiting much when you come to a pharmacist office with the ticket.
Patients have had to visit a hospital at least twice for getting Doctor's diagnosis through today, first time for tests of blood and urine and second time for doctor's diagnosis. Not only it took time for calculation of charge, patients had to wait even for an hour to get medicines. All these troubles have been overcome. Patients can enjoy better service of hospital now.
The Wall Street Journal Interactive reported how hotels in U.S.A. prepared to Y2k. Some of them will provide in each room a "Y2k emergency bag." It will contain a flashlight, transiter clock/radio, dry snacks and glow-in-the-dark, yo-yos, etc. , so that guests do not get scared and bored. The core systems of hotels such as room reservation have not been prepared not enough at at a few hotels. In general, franchised or managed hotels appeared to be less prepared than those operated by owners.
Hospitals' preparedness is one of the worst in America. How are those in Japan? Hospitals can be said as hotels for sick people. It might be good to utilize computers for managing hospitals as I wrote in the above. But the most serious problems are whether medical machines are prepared perfectly for Y2k.