Japanese healthcare system: lessons to be learned.

Naoki Ikegami is Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Keio University School of Medicine (Tokyo, Japan), from which he received his MD and PhD. He also received a Master of Arts degree in health services studies with Distinction from Leeds University (UK). During 1990-1991, he was a visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and Medical School (PA, USA). His publications include "The Art of Balance in Health Policy--Maintaining Japan's Low-Cost Egalitarian System" (Cambridge University Press, 1998) with John C Campbell, and "Measuring the quality of long-term care in institutional and community settings. In: "Measuring Up--Improving Health Care Performance in OECD Countries" (OECD, 2002) with John Hirdes and Iain Carpenter. His interests are comparative health policy, long-term care and reimbursement systems. He is currently president of the Japan Society on Healthcare Administration, and the Japan Healtheconomics Society. Here, Naoki Ikegami talks to Expert Review of Pharmacoeconomics & Outcomes Research about how Japan is dealing with the health policy issues of today.