2024 Volume 55 Issue 2 Pages 83-88
The Japanese laws regulating healthcare professionals currently contain exclusionary clauses that limit qualifications based on individual impairments. These exclusionary clauses are grounded in a medical model focused on individual impairments and contradict the social model that underpins the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which Japan has ratified. Furthermore, these clauses exacerbate the stigma associated with disabilities, complicating the integration of individuals with disabilities into the healthcare professional community.
To enhance the quality of healthcare and address medical disparities faced by individuals with disabilities, it is critical to employ healthcare staff with disabilities. It is an essential requirement that healthcare professionals, with or without disabilities, pursue shared objectives on equal grounds, and their collaboration must be officially sanctioned. The presence of exclusionary clauses presents an obstacle to long-term improvements in healthcare quality and necessitates immediate rectification.
