A few hospitals in Japan didn't admit Barbie Hsu, claims a person who's purportedly her family's tour guide
She was apparently only diagnosed with influenza on her third visit to a hospital in Tokyo.

More details have emerged regarding the circumstances surrounding the late Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu's health, just prior to her death in Japan on Jan. 31, 2025.
Wasn't given diagnosis during first two hospital visits
According to a widely circulated story reported by Taiwanese media, including Next Apple and ET Today, a person, purportedly to be the tour guide who received Hsu's family, claimed that the late star had displayed symptoms of coughing and asthma on Jan. 29.
At that time, her family had just arrived in the Japanese town of Hakone.
Hsu, also known as Big S, did not leave the hotel on Jan. 30 and 31 in order to recuperate.
Her symptoms got worse on Jan. 31, and she called for an ambulance, which took her to a hospital within Hakone.
But the doctor was reportedly unable to diagnose the cause of her illness, and the 48-year-old returned to her hotel later that night.
She was then accompanied by her family to a small hospital in Tokyo for treatment on Feb. 1.
This was apparently her second hospital visit.
However, the small hospital reportedly was unable to give her a diagnosis and referred her to a larger hospital.
There, which apparently was her third hospital visit, she was diagnosed with influenza, and was provided with medication, but was still not admitted to be hospitalised.
Her condition took a turn for the worse that night, and her family called for an ambulance to take her to hospital again.
However, she was pronounced dead at 7am on Feb. 2.
Screenshots of her purported medical records have also been circulated online, which showed that her oxygen saturation levels had dropped to 89 per cent and that she had significant lung congestion.
In addition, CT scans done on Feb. 1 supposedly showed extensive lung damage.
Why was she not hospitalised?
A thoracic doctor, Xu Liheng (transliteration), said there could be two key factors that could have contributed to Hsu's death, Shin Min Daily News further reported.
One factor, according to Xu, is how hospitals in remote areas of Japan, such as Hakone or Hokkaido, do not have emergency rooms, doctors on duty or intensive care units, which means a referral to another hospital is required.
The second factor is that Japanese doctors might also be reluctant to tend to foreign patients due to the language barrier, where finding out about a patient's medical history is crucial.
Shin Min further reported that news of Hsu's passing from pneumonia has since sparked a rush among Taiwanese to get the influenza vaccine, with Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control website temporarily going down on Feb. 3.
The city of Tainan also reportedly had all of its influenza vaccination slots filled out in less than three hours on the same day, despite having over 7,000 shots available initially.
Shin Min likened the situation to the rush for vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Top photos via Barbie Hsu's Instagram
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