The 19th Medical Chart

What if doctors treated us like people rather than maladies?

This drama touches the heart in many ways while challenging the medical field to see people as a whole. What if doctors spoke to us rather than at us? What if they took the time to find out about our habits and lifestyles instead of focusing on a single area to treat and dismiss? How would the sharing of ideas and abilities between specialties change things in diagnosing and treating the cause of ailment rather than singling out symptoms to treat and calling it a day? Does the value to society outweigh the cost for healing those who do not fit conveniently in a specialist box? The doctors in this series have their set biases based on their abilities and experience. This drama makes them question how they see patients and to set aside their specialties to see how they can discover the root causes of undiagnosed cases. How much effort to extend to those who fall between the cracks and do not conveniently fit in a specific category with established treatments to prescribe and send home. The entire cast did a wonderful job of making these cases come to life. They gave us slices of life to appreciate the patient and hospital staff. To see their struggles and the need to get passed egos to see to the needs of the patient. It gave hope for a future brand of doctors that wanted to see more than a given specialty, with a desire to get input from other specialists to accurately asses what the real problem is, and provide a course of action that would provide the patient relief if not a cure. I loved this drama showing out of the box thinking in creating better quality of life situations for brushed aside patients. I would love to see this type of medicine in action and not just in a drama. But til that day comes, this drama lets us ponder these questions and gives us hope that it might become reality some day. This drama covers serious issues of healthcare while giving respect and dignity to the patients and families dealing with them. We see the conflicts of specialists vs general practitioners and hints of how that bridge can be gapped if true discussion is on the table. It shows the family like relationships of medical professionals and how this both helps and hinders their dealing with patients. When doctors become patients, does their attitudes and mindsets change about how they practice medicine? It makes us wonder what advances we can make working together rather than focusing on competition to become the top in a specific field with no other goals. This gentle speaking doctor caused a lot of fuss in the hospital, but he calmly and steadfastly believed in the importance of people’s stories, and that unwavering effort was eventually rewarded with growing understanding from his colleagues. This is very well done as you laugh and cry with them through these life experiences.

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Simple & Sweet

I enjoyed this. Just sweet and simple and no drama. I liked the cast a lot as well. I thought Matsumotu Jun was great as Dr. Tokushige and I found him to be a calming presence. The show it nothing new and the main conflict is hospital buracracy and cutting departments that don't make money. None of which matter to me but is quite sad that hospitals value profits over human lives.

I liked that each episode tackled a different ailment and personal circumstance and how the General Medicine Department helped to facilitate a better care routine and choice for patients.

The standout episode for me was episode 6. I bawled my eyes out this ep. End of life care is no doubt tough! The actor playing Tatsu was great and he helped the actress playing Dr. Tokino shine here.

9/28/25

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