When coming to a hospital or clinic for the first time, you go to receptionist and tell them,
Hajimete desu ga
はじめてですが
(I am a new patient)
The receptionist will understand your words and she/he will give you a form to be filled.
If you find it difficult to read and write in Japanese, you can ask her/his help to fill it out.
Give the form back and tell the receptionist the following words
Kanji wo chotto yomemasen ga
漢字をちょっと読めませんが
(I can’t read kanji)
Some hospitals/clinics may have some English forms but if they don’t have it, you can just ask the receptionist to fill it out for you. You will also need to fill out medical history form (Jushin ka-do or 受診カード）. Questions will be about your health problems you have and also what medication you take etc.
In the meantime, the receptionist will ask you about your health insurance card. If your child is the patient, the receptionist will ask for 子どもの医療証 (Kodomo no iryou shou or Child’s medical care card).
After finishing with the paperwork, the receptionist will ask you to wait in the waiting room. The doctor will call you based on your appointment or waiting number. But sometimes they will just call your name, make sure you hear it correctly because they will call every patient with the same ending, using the word of “SAMA”
For example,
Yamashita sama
Ishii sama
Roberto sama
When you enter the consultation room (shinsatsushitsu or 診察室）, the doctor will greet you and ask about your symptom.
dou shimasuka?
どうしますか
dou shimashitaka?
どうしましたが
or maybe using the polite equivalent of dou shimasuka
dou nasaimashitaka
どうなさいましたか？
For common phrases use by the doctor check this page
To explain your symptom, check this page
After checking your condition and give you some prescription letter, the doctor will ask you to go to the cashier and proceed to the pharmacy.
You may need to make an appointment for your next visit. Please confirm this with the receptionist.
Good Luck!
