Outpatient visit information

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Consultation reception hours

Outpatient consultation schedule

First visit reception hours Follow-up visit reception hours Closed days
8:30 AM - 11:00 AM　Weekdays 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM　Weekdays Saturdays, Sundays, and Public Holidays
For pediatrics, until 3:00 PM Automated reception machine available from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
First visit reception hours 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM　Weekdays For pediatrics, until 3:00 PM
Follow-up visit reception hours 8:30 AM - 2:00 PM　Weekdays Automated reception machine available from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Closed days Saturdays, Sundays, and Public Holidays
  • Please note that, due to various circumstances, morning consultations may be delayed until the afternoon
  • At our hospital, we verify your health insurance card at every visit. Please be sure to bring your "My number card" or "Health insurance card" along with your "Patient ID Card" when you visit.
  • If you need to cancel your appointment, please contact us.
  • From October 1, 2014, in principle, a referral letter is required for all first visits to any department. However, a referral is not necessary for visits on holidays, at night, or in emergencies.

For First-time patients

Our hospital operates as a "Regional medical support hospital," focusing primarily on inpatient and emergency care. As part of our role as an "acute care hospital," we work in coordination with local medical institutions to share responsibilities. Therefore, outpatient services are generally provided by appointment only. We kindly request that first-time patients bring a referral letter (Medical information report) from another medical institution.

For those who do not have a letter of introduction

For Patients without a Referral Letter: If you do not have a referral letter during your first visit, we may ask about your symptoms at the general information or reception desk and guide you to a local medical institution.
If your visit is accepted, in addition to the Additional Fee for a First-time Patient without a Referral, you will be required to pay an additional fee of 7,000 yen (5,000 yen for dental and oral surgery) as a fee for selected medical treatment at the time of the initial consultation, in addition to the initial consultation fee.

Please note that the payment of the Additional Fee for a First-time Patient without a Referral does not guarantee that you will be able to receive treatment.
Additionally, due to the revision of medical fees in 2022, the Additional Fee for a First-time Patient without a Referral at our hospital have been changed as of October 1, 2022 .For follow-up visits, if your condition is stable and you wish to continue treatment at our hospital after being suggested from our hospital to be referred to another medical institution, but do not have a referral letter, you will be required to pay a follow-up additional fee for a First-time Patient without a Referral of 3,000 yen (1,900 yen for dental and oral surgery).

Regarding the Selective Medical Expenses

For patients without a referral letter, the following additional charges (tax included) will apply on top of the initial consultation fee, outpatient consultation fee, and follow-up consultation fee


First visit		General outpatient7,000 yen
Dental and oral surgery5,000 yen
Follow-up visit
Outpatient treatment fee		General outpatient3,000 yen
Dental and oral surgery1,900 yen

This policy is intended to ensure the appropriate use of medical facilities. For mild symptoms or when your condition is stable, please consult your primary care physician. If your primary care physician determines that tests or surgery are necessary, you will be referred to a hospital capable of providing such treatment. This process follows national guidelines. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in bringing a referral letter for your hospital visit.

Q&A on Selective Medical Care Fee

Q1. What is Selective Medical Care Fee?

It is a flat-rate charge for non-insured expenses incurred at the patient's selection, such as when a patient visits a regional medical support hospital with 200 or more general beds without a referral letter.
This applies to initial and follow-up visits for minor illnesses and emergencies.

Q2. Is Hokubu Hospital a regional medical support hospital?

Yes. Our hospital has been designated as a regional medical support hospital since 2013.

Q3. Is it necessary to pay for selective medical care even though it is a prefectural hospital?

Yes. You are responsible for the cost of the service.
Under this system, hospitals and clinics are required by the government to “collect a fee for selected medical care as a patient's choice when a patient makes an initial visit to a university hospital or other hospital with specified functions, or a community support hospital with 200 or more general sickbeds, if the patient is not referred by a clinic."
We ask for your understanding and ask that you decide on a primary care physician.

Q4.Do I have to pay every time I come for a follow-up visit?

Yes, you will be charged each time you visit.
However, only for those who do not agree to be transferred to their family doctor.
Selective medical care fee is not charged for those who need to visit our hospital due to public expenses or special diseases.

Q5.What is considered an initial consultation?

An initial consultation refers to "treatment for a new illness" and is defined by the government as one of the following:
a. When visiting our hospital for the first time.
b. When treatment for a previous illness at our hospital has already been completed.
c. When resuming treatment after voluntarily discontinuing it.

Q6.I visited the hospital a few years ago and still have my patient ID card. Is this considered a follow-up visit?

It would be considered an initial consultation as per either condition (b) or (c) in Q5. Please refer to the cases outlined in Q4 for more details on initial consultations.

Q7.If I don't bring a letter of referral, will I have to pay for selective medical care?

In principle, yes. Please make sure to bring a referral letter if you have one.
However, in the following cases, the selective medical care fee does not apply:

When emergency transport is deemed necessary
When the medical examination results in hospitalization
When follow-up testing is required after a medical check
If you are participating in a clinical trial
If the visit is related to a work-related accident, duty-related accident, traffic accident or if you are paying out-of-pocket.
If you are a recipient of publicly funded health care scheme (※Please bring your publicly funded health care scheme beneficiary card, etc.)

Q8.Will I still be charged the Selective Medical Care fee I arrive by ambulance?

If the patient comes to the hospital by ambulance but is able to go home after the visit, the patient will be charged for selective medical care.
The exclusion requirement is “those deemed to require emergency transport.” It is not an ambulance visit.

Q9. I have a publicly funded health care scheme beneficiary card. I have a cold and would like to see a doctor; do I have to pay for selective medical care?

Yes, the fee will apply. Only cases where the patient is examined for a disease covered by the publicly funded health care scheme are eligible for the exemption.

Q10.Do I have to pay for selective medical care after hours?

Yes. The revision of the medical service fee in October 2022 requires that first-time patients without a letter of referral be eligible for the fee, even if they are seen after hours, depending on the severity of the illness and the urgency of the visit.

Q11. Is there a charge for selective medical care for children?

Yes, if the child's condition is not severe or urgent, the fee may apply. However, if you are unsure, please do not hesitate to seek medical care.

Regarding the Selective Medical Expenses for COVID-19 Testing

For those undergoing COVID-19 testing* at our hospital, please note that you will be required to pay the full amount of 7,000 yen (tax included) as a Selected Medical Expense. However, this fee does not apply to individuals who have a referral letter from another medical institution or those who have been referred to our hospital by public health authorities.

When in doubt about whether to visit an emergency room

For those suffering from sudden illness or injury, etc.
Please click on “Emergency Medical Checkup App” or “Children's Emergency” and enter your symptoms for reference.

Information on emergency outpatient department

We accept emergency patients 24/7. Referrals from local medical institutions to the emergency outpatient department are accepted through the Regional Medical Liaison Office. The referring medical institution should call the doctor in charge and fax the "Patient Referral Document" to the Community Medical Cooperation Office. However, during clinics’ opening hours on weekdays (8:30-17:00) and on Saturdays (8:30-12:00), we ask patients with mild symptoms visit their regular doctor as much as possible
Please note that if you visit the emergency department for the first time without a referral letter, you may be required to pay 7,000 yen (5,000 yen in the case of dental and oral surgery) as an elective medical care fee at the time of the first consultation in addition to the initial consultation fee. In addition, staff shift times are between 6 AM and 8:30 AM as well as between 4 and 6 PM, so waiting times tend to be longer.　We recommend that you avoid these times as much as possible.

Regarding treatment by outside doctors at nighttime and on holidays

In some of our emergency outpatient departments at nighttime and on holidays, we ask doctors from the northern region to provide medical treatment (with their cooperation). We ask for the understanding and cooperation of patients and all related parties at medical institutions.