Dysentery and a Broken Axle

After another half day in Jinmen, I'm back in Taipei, and somehow I've come down with stomach problems here despite somehow avoiding it for the most part while in China. Don't think I actually have dysentery - the title is merely an allusion to common problems that may occur on a well-known journey.

Anyhow, I'll be resting in Taipei for a bit before heading down South to Chiayi to see relatives a few days. Ah, Taiwan... so comfortable and convenient. No one haggling you for money, trying to swindle or cheat you, so many places are open 24 hours, so many tasty snacks to try (once I feel better).

I dropped by the hospital today to see the doctor as a precautionary measure. Even without health insurance and Taiwanese ID, Taiwan's medical care was so much cheaper and more efficient than the US. Some key differences:

1) Instead of making an appointment with your doctor and arriving there, waiting for half an hour or an hour before he is actually available, in Taiwan you simply get a number ahead of time, either by showing up in person or calling ahead. The number is your position in line, and you can estimate about when you might be called. Even if you arrive after your number is called, you can get yourself slotted next after the next couple of patients. In our case, there were 16 patients slotted for the morning, and I was #13. We arrived right on time - there was no wait at all.

2) Doctors in Taiwan are each in their own office and patients go to visit their doctor in the same office, one after another, whereas of course in the US, patients with appointments around the same time are each placed in isolated rooms, often waiting for at least 10-20 minutes before the doctor is able to make his way over. As a result, there is much more transparency in Taiwan in terms of knowing where you are, where the doctor is, and when is it you should expect to see him. In the US, sometimes you wonder if the doctor has forgotten about you and left you to rot in your sterile cell.

3) Doctors in Taiwan are very efficient with their time. Often, the whole appointment takes no more than 5-10 minutes. The doc gets straight to the point and asks whats wrong, you tell him your issues, he provides a diagnosis, you give your feedback, and he gives you a prescription and adds notes to your electronic medical record once everyone is on the same page.

4) In Taiwan, you can see whichever specialists you want without a referral. Ironically enough, this means everyone goes straight to the specialist, and general family doctors, which was what I saw today, have plenty of time and are much easier to get a hold of.

5) Medical records, as mentioned, are stored electronically. Doctors access them on their computers, and adds notes to them electronically as well. Insurance, which is universal in Taiwan, is tracked via smart card and reduces administrative costs. In fact, Taiwan's health care administration cost is only 2% of total costs (lowest in the world), whereas in the US, administrative costs are about 29% of total costs.

6) Even without insurance, health care costs a fraction of what it does in the US. For my doctor's visit, I paid a total of 350 NT ($10 USD). My prescription, which consists of 5 different drugs, cost about 720 NT ($21 USD). With insurance, of course it's even less.

Taiwan is in the middle of promoting itself as a destination for medical tourism. With high quality medical care, low costs, modern facilities, and good doctors with English language skills, it has the potential to cater to many more international patients. Who knows whether it will be as successful in attracting outside interest as Thailand, Singapore, India, or Korea, but one thing is for sure - it's already better than the US.