insurance

Prescription

処方箋 (shohōsen)

A prescription (処方箋, shohōsen) is a written or electronic instruction from a licensed doctor authorizing a patient to obtain specific medication from a pharmacy. After a consultation, the doctor issues the prescription and the patient takes it to a dispensing pharmacy (調剤薬局) to receive the medicine. Insurance coverage applies to listed prescription drugs, significantly reducing the patient's out-of-pocket medicine costs.

Japan separates prescribing from dispensing: you take the doctor's prescription to a nearby pharmacy rather than receiving medication directly from the clinic.

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	Prescription
Japanese (日本語)	処方箋
Chinese (中文)	处方
Korean (한국어)	처방전
Portuguese	Receita médica
Spanish	Receta médica
Filipino	Reseta
Thai	ใบสั่งยา
Vietnamese	Đơn thuốc
Romanization	shohōsen

Related terms

• National Health Insurance 国民健康保険
• Health Insurance Card 健康保険証
• Copayment / Patient Cost-Sharing 自己負担
• Outpatient / Outpatient Care 外来
• Medical Certificate / Doctor's Note 診断書

Learn more in the guide:

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