When patients in Japan see a doctor for an ailment or a checkup, or to get prescriptions, probably few would be able to identify their medicine or explain why they take it.
That's because most patients passively rely on their physicians to ensure their health or recovery, just like taking a taxi to their destinations, said Dr. Naoto T. Ueno, an oncologist at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He believes such paternalistic doctor-patient relations must change.
Ueno has trained over 400 Japanese medical professionals since 2001 at a variety of educational programs hosted by medical institutions in both Japan and the United States, including St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo.