>Well, if you want a checkup, then the American system is fine, right? Not in my experience. They seem to have done away with yearly checkups altogether, clai

>Well, if you want a checkup, then the American system is fine, right? Not in my experience. They seem to have done away with yearly checkups altogether, claiming somehow they don't work (!). Here in Japan, you get a yearly checkup (for free!) which checks all kinds of things: eyes, ears (audiometry), chest x-ray, abdominal ultrasound, blood test, stool/urine, etc. The idea is to catch problems early instead of waiting for patients to feel like there's a problem and see a doctor on their own. The American system doesn't seem to believe in this any more, though it did decades ago.