Doctors, nurses and other health care providers in the public sector are paid monthly salaries by the government and work in hospitals and clinics built and maintained by the government. Thus it is a form of socialized medicine . All public clinics and hospitals are nearly free for the citizens, with a charge equivalent to 10 U.S. cents for every office visit. Prescription drugs are dispensed at the clinics and hospitals free of charge, but shortages of drugs are common. Many government clinics are staffed solely by nurses and medical students, although emergencies and complicated cases are referred to hospitals or clinics with doctors.
Much emphasis is put on preventive medicine and education.
Community visits by the health care providers are common, in an attempt to monitor and correct the most basic health problems of the area. Such problems include malnutrition of children and unsafe water supplies. Although the public sector is by far the major part of the health care system in Honduras, there is a thriving private sector as well. There is no restriction on who can work privately, thus many doctors choose to work both in a government institution and in a private practice. Japan Adapted from Ikegami, N, and Campbell, J. Medical Care in Japan.