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Until now, we sometimes sent referral letters to other hospitals to patients’ homes by regular mail.
Changes in the postal service in recent years have made it difficult to deliver them reliably and safely. For this reason, we have stopped mailing them to patients’ homes and now hand them over in person.
Changes in the postal service
Japan Post has made the following changes in recent years, and delivery of regular mail now takes longer than before.
- 2021: Saturday delivery discontinued
- 2024: Review of the delivery system and a price increase
Current delivery estimates(as of 2026)
| Route | Estimated days |
|---|---|
| Within the same prefecture (e.g., Sawara Ward → Chuo Ward) | 2–3 days |
| Neighboring prefecture | 2–4 days |
| Long distance (e.g., Fukuoka → Tokyo) | 3–5 days |
Regular mail has no tracking number, so we cannot confirm when it arrived, or even whether it arrived at all.
Reason for ending mailing
A referral letter contains important medical information, such as the patient’s test results and treatment details. We concluded that it is not appropriate to send it by a method where “we do not know when it will arrive” and “we cannot confirm that it arrived.”
In case a letter is lost, careful handling is also needed from the standpoint of protecting personal information.
What we do from now on
Hand delivery (the patient brings it)
We hand the letter, in an envelope, directly to the patient. Because a referral letter summarizes the test data and course of treatment so far, it can take time to prepare. Please understand that we may not always be able to hand it over on the day of your visit.
If mailing is absolutely necessary
If you have unavoidable circumstances, please speak with our reception desk.
Future digitization
In preparation for the introduction of the national “Electronic Medical Record Information Sharing Service,” we are also making preparations at our clinic. In the future, we plan to move to safer and faster electronic information sharing.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask at any time.
