Critical condition

Article Abstract:

Economic mismanagement is plaguing Japan's health care system. Financial problems, which are causing 4/5 of the country's 8,000 privately owned hospitals to lose money, stem from poor managerial practices and from the rigidity of Japan's universal health-insurance program. Bad management has caused hospitals to maintain excessive numbers of beds, while the tendency of costs to outpace government-sanctioned fee increases has led to over-testing, over-prescribing and corruption. The Health Ministry's gradual approach to reform will probably not eliminate these defects.

Economic aspects, Hospitals, Economic policy, Medical policy, Health policy, National health insurance, Hospital administration, Japan. Ministry of Health and Welfare

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Militant designs win acclaim for architect

Article Abstract:

Japanese architect Tadao Ando has achieved fame and startled his more pedestrian colleagues with a series of boldly unorthodox designs. These designs, such as the Japanese Pavilion at Expo '92 in Seville, Spain, incorporate Ando's belief that Japanese cultural and spiritual sensibilities can come through in buildings made with modern materials. The 52-year-old Ando, whose office is in Osaka, Japan, first worked as a boxer and then took up architecture after serving a craftsman's apprenticeship but with no college-level education as an architect.

Column, Biography, Architects, Ando, Tadao

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Safety-first investment

Article Abstract:

Fund managers in Switzerland, the US and the UK are offering modified investment opportunities, pairing zero coupon bonds with equity securities. The hybrid product offers capital protection while yielding better than bank deposits. A large portion of the investment is put into zero coupon securities, while the rest is invested in geared instruments. This investment strategy is available through private banking facilities and can have more than a 30% rate of return in three years.

Usage, Evaluation, Services, Securities, Investments, Investment advisers, Zero coupon securities

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