Visited a highly rated specialist doctor today at a major hospital, with advance appointment. In roughly a few hours, he alone saw 88 patients for evaluation. Morning evaluation hours are 830-1130 or until finished (3 hours+).
On the plus side, total cost was NT$400. And according to a friend, a more experienced doctor.
I saw a dermatologist and it lasted about 2 minutes. He got it right but shit man it was quick.
When I went back home in January, I had a fungal infection I needed some cream for.
The doctor had a conversation with me. Felt so strange. Asked me how everything is going in life etc I asked him how he’s doing. Took his time to check me out, spoke to me about the meds and any adverse effects etc.
Going by the appointment number seeing all the numbers and names on the electronic board and watching people go in number by number. I watched about 25.
Taiwanese medical system is factory-like. I have very mixed feelings about it. Yes, it is cheap. But it is very hit or miss. Some doctors take a whole five minutes to actually ask you a question or two about your issue, try to understand, be careful and make sure they don’t miss anything. Others barely glance at your chart and shove you out the door.
I have major eye issues and have for the most part gotten good care in Taiwan. But there have also been instances of doctors completely missing obvious things, prescribing the wrong medication, shoving me out the door in less than 60 seconds, not bothering to answer questions, etc. Fortunately I have had these issues all my life so I understand my own situation very well and can usually catch mistakes. But a good portion of doctors here simply do not give a fuck, because they are forced to see such a ridiculous amount of patients in such a short time.
It can be very, very frustrating compared to the US system, which is cripplingly expensive, but at least all the doctors I’ve ever met most definitely give a fuck.
In Taiwan, if you want a good doctor to take their time. You need to know which specialist to see and it helps if you are referred by someone the doctor knows. I think this makes it hard if you’re not a local. My moms doctor is well known and all booked for months when she went through her cancer treatment. But the doctor saw her because a friend referred her to him.
Or you need to go see a specialist and pay out of pocket. Out of pocket is still often cheaper than having insurance in the US so it’s not a bad thing if you really need help.