Woman Gets 4-Hour Full Health Check-Up In Japan & 'Learned More Than I Would In Years' In The US
Ekkasit A Siam | ShutterstockA physician named Ingrid Yang acknowledged the shortcomings of the American medical system she works for and chose to take her healthcare to another country for a holistic preventative perspective, according to an essay she wrote for Business Insider.
In the U.S., a string of medical tests, no matter how routine, would cost a good deal of money and be an absolute nightmare to schedule. However, in other countries, like Japan, this kind of check-up takes mere hours and costs considerably less. Yang is just one of many patients to take advantage of a medical tourism opportunity to ensure she’s in top shape.
The woman learned more about her health at a Japanese hospital than she likely ever could at home.
Yang wrote that she had visited Japan “many times before,” but never with the intention of uncovering information about her health. On this particular visit, she got a check-up that is known as a “ningen dock,” which basically means “human dock.”
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Just like a ship would be regularly inspected between voyages at a dock, the check-up is meant to be preventative and reveal any small concerns before they affect daily life. With the help of a translator, Yang received X-rays, ultrasounds, bloodwork, and more before reviewing the results with a doctor.
The whole appointment took about four hours and cost just $1,800. Unlike the American medical system, which would require “separate referrals” and “weeks of waiting,” Yang moved from one test to the next with efficiency, and she didn’t have to wait for test results to pop up in her patient portal.
She described her experience as a “comprehensive preventative medical check-up” that was completely worth it, as she now knows what lifestyle shifts will best support her health.
The American healthcare system is pretty challenging, which makes options like this seem like a good idea.
Research from Johns Hopkins revealed that the U.S. spends more on healthcare than any other developed country, but more money doesn’t necessarily equate to superior care. Instead, everything from prescriptions to tests to doctors to hospital stays simply costs more money than it does elsewhere.
Additionally, Dr. Bruce A. Scott, MD, the president of the American Medical Association, explained that the U.S. is facing a shortage of doctors that is at “almost crisis level.” This can lead to long wait times to just get a simple appointment with your physician, not to mention how it affects scheduling medical testing in a system that was already complicated.
Despite the obvious problems the American healthcare system faces, very little is being done to rectify long-standing issues. Many people feel forced to choose between pricey medical procedures and other necessities like groceries, which is just compounded by the fact that over 27 million Americans don’t have health insurance.
Healthcare costs have caused the medical tourism industry to explode.
For many, traveling to a foreign country for medical care that you could receive in the U.S. feels impractical, but others see the genius in it. Estimates suggest that Turkey, another popular destination for people seeking healthcare, will have over 2 million international visitors looking for medical treatment this year.
One of those tourists, Bryn Elise, took a trip to Turkey in 2024 for what she called “the most in-depth check-up of my life.” For $810, she underwent a variety of tests at a local hospital similar to what Yang experienced. She said, “Personally, I’d rather spend $700 on a flight to Turkey, get dozens of tests there, and take a whole vacation, than spend the thousands that this would have cost in the United States.”
International travel isn’t feasible for everyone, but the medical tourism industry is probably going to continue to grow, especially if there’s no intervention in the U.S. to make the same care cheaper and more accessible. It goes to show just how broken healthcare is in one of the wealthiest countries in the world.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
