Okay, it’s a teaser, but I would like to see what people think are the best and the worst as far as hospitals in Taipei are concerned. Some things to consider are service, cleanliness, staff, etc.
My favorite hospital is Cathay although I haven’t been to the Adventist yet so I am holding out. Staff is good, the clinics nice and the wait is decent.
Conversely, the worst by far has been Wanfang Community. I think ER nurses freaking out at the sight of blood tarnished their reputation in my eyes. That and the doctor who treated my ankle wearing those blue plastic sandals which revealed his snaggled yellowed toenails. Couldn’t help but think, “This guy is taking care of my feet?!”
I will add a poll as the responses roll in as far as the best hospital goes.
I’ve only been to two - Adventist and Renai (health check). They both seemed OK, although compared to what I’m used to the doctors seemed awfully… I’m not sure if the word is “efficient” or “superficial”, or both.
I’ve seen a few specialists (not for me personally) and they were the fastest assembly lines of patients I’ve ever been on, so much so that it makes me question the quality of the the evaluation and advice. I actually think for the most part it was good medical care, but the speed makes me worry that it’s easy to overlook something and obviously they were very short on explanations and alternatives. If there’s anywhere in Taipei that has specialists who will actually spend time getting a feel for background, individual situation, etc., even at a price, I’d like to hear about it.
Been to McKay for some minor thing, went on a Saturday and ended up in the ER, but the doctor wasn’t really in a mood so he asked me to come back during normal clinic hours and got to the outpatient treatment.
Only after insisting he did a quick check and gave me some medicine for the weekend. The treatment at the clinic was ok.
As well been to Adventist a few times since it’s near my office and the docs keep on telling me I am fine. One day I will believe them …
BTW: are there any entirely private hospitals around here, i.e. those that do not take the NHI card? Just wondering.
McKay is OK, but it can be awfully crowded sometimes. I’ve been to the one by where Dinghao’s Tower Records used to be, the Tri-Service hospital and Rennai–no complaints, although Rennai is like a 60s time warp in side. The Tai-da Hospital is the pits–they once checked that my colleague was pregnant on HIS health exam form.
I’ve had two tumors removed at the tiny, but clean Chong Ying Hospital in Panchiao’s Wenhua Rd., and I think the quality of the staff of that boutique hospital is great, and they dope you up so much during procedures you are flying for the rest of the week–certainly no complaints there.
I will add a poll as the responses roll in as far as the best hospital goes.[/quote]
All in all I’ve found Chang-Gung to be the most professional. Like most of the other places it’s just so damn crowded that I avoid going there though. But if I had to go to a hospital that’s where I’d go.
I don’t know about Mackay. I walked to Mackay (or rather limped to) after being woken up with a severe leg cramp that left me screaming in pain. They took my blood pressure, pointed me to a room where the doctor took my paper, asked me what was wrong, and then told me to sit down outside without ever touching, let alone looking at my leg. Twenty minutes later a nurse came and shoved two injections into my arm, one a muscle relaxer and the other a pain reliever. My leg didn’t get any better and it still hurt like hell for two days after. The arm that she injected was sore for three weeks after. I go there because it’s at the end of my street, but considering the long waits and lackluster services, I might try limping to a taxi stand next time.
It’s still better than a group of nurses crying out “Ai yooo!” and leaving me alone with the doctor when blood came from my ankle.
[quote]It’s still better than a group of nurses crying out “Ai yooo!” and leaving me alone with the doctor when blood came from my ankle.
[/quote]
Wise girls. Foreigners can carry AIDS, surely you know that?
The clinic on Heping where it meets Fuxing is good enough for me. Dr. Yang speaks English, they take the NHI card, and he’s only there after 7 pm. That’s no problem for me, because I want to see a doctor only after work. He also runs the associated pharmacy next door, so when he prescribes something you go next door to pick it up.
The nurses don’t really speak English but they are friendly, and they will just make you wait until the doctor is ready. There can be up to a 45 minute wait, but I don’t mind so much. If I go at 6:45 I’ll be first or second when the doctor gets there.
The best hospital in Taiwan & apparently the 2nd best hospital in Asia/Pacific (after a hospital in Melbourne Australia) is NTUH (National Taiwan University Hospital).
The quality measures are skewed towards quality of research rather than quality of patient care but as far as I know there are no good comparative stats on patient care & quality is quality.
I spent a week getting a stomach ulcer treated at the ChungShan hospital, in the Lanes behind the southeast corner of the DunHwa-RenAi circle.
I had only been in Taiwan for a couple months at that time, and it was the only hospital I knew (from living next door to it for my first 2 weeks in Taiwan), which is why I ended up there (through the ER at 4AM in the morning, no less). It’s a smaller hospital, and I’m told that the word on the street in Taipei is that it’s pretty good, even though it’s not one of the large well known hospitals. Several friends have told me that it used to be a private hospital for government officials and the wealthy, so it must be pretty good.
Anyway, I thought the care I received was pretty good, and the followups were very professional. Then again, that was the first time in my life I’ve ever been to a hospital in any country, so I have nothing to compare against.
Chang Gung Hospital on Dunhua is where I go. They have the clinics there but for tests such as an MRI and surgery, you go to the Linkou Hospital. They have a shuttle bus that takes you there.
The clinics are well run and I have found the doctors to be more knowledgeable than those at home. I had back surgery there two years ago and have no complaints. Have seen doctors recently and have been satisfied with their diagnoses. The doctors speak enough English to manage ok.
[quote=“Scuba”]The best hospital in Taiwan & apparently the 2nd best hospital in Asia/Pacific (after a hospital in Melbourne Australia) is NTUH (National Taiwan University Hospital).
The quality measures are skewed towards quality of research rather than quality of patient care but as far as I know there are no good comparative stats on patient care & quality is quality.[/quote]
From my experience, that is indeed skewed, unless you care to be a guinea pig A lot of interns there. very crowded.
So far, they’ve all looked pretty bad to me. The worst one I’ve been to was the Tri-Service Hospital. I was awfully sick when I first came to Taiwan, and it was close to my apartment, so I went there. It was so dirty and crowded, I started crying as I was waiting to see the doctor. A Taiwanese friend of my roommate later said the hospital was no good, and took me to the Adventist, which he said ws the best in Taipei.
All of the doctors I’ve seen have seemed like hare-brained quacks, more or less, but maybe any medical system other than the one you are used to seems suspicious, especially when you’re sick.
i used to swear by taiwan adventist, but now that i work around the corner from Ren’Ai, that’s where i usually end up. i think they are both good. i don’t think it’s fair to judge a hospital by the interior decor, nor different asthetic expectations. i used to believe the nicer (more western) the hospital looked on the inside that it somehow reflected the quality of care. having been going to ren’ai now for the past 7 months, i don’t find it any different than adventist, even though the inside is an eye-sore. i guess it’s comforting when you first get here to walk into a more western looking hospital; it somehow makes you think the quality of care is more superior, but having lived in taipei for 3 years now, i know different. my trust in medical care stops just short of TaiDa hospital though. abouta year ago, my roommate smashed a bowl against the wall in a fit of rage and ended up severing his middle finger off down to a thin tendon that it was dangling from in the taxi (*still faster than the ambulances) to taida hospital. the doctors there somehow managed to sew it back on but never came in to change the dressings. a year later, he has no motor function in his finger and therefore went to a different hospital. the new hospital open his finger up again to find that the surgeons at taida failed to reattach the majority of the tendons in his finger. he can’t sue because apparently he signed a disclaimer permitting med students to operate.
[quote=“bababa”]So far, they’ve all looked pretty bad to me. The worst one I’ve been to was the Tri-Service Hospital. I was awfully sick when I first came to Taiwan, and it was close to my apartment, so I went there. It was so dirty and crowded, I started crying as I was waiting to see the doctor. A Taiwanese friend of my roommate later said the hospital was no good, and took me to the Adventist, which he said ws the best in Taipei.
All of the doctors I’ve seen have seemed like hare-brained quacks, more or less, but maybe any medical system other than the one you are used to seems suspicious, especially when you’re sick.[/quote]
I was just there about a week ago, and that wasn’t the imrpession I got at all. I found it to be clean and the doctor I had was great. But, like all hospitals here, it can be like being in an assembly line.
[quote=“daltongang”][quote=“Scuba”]The best hospital in Taiwan & apparently the 2nd best hospital in Asia/Pacific (after a hospital in Melbourne Australia) is NTUH (National Taiwan University Hospital).
The quality measures are skewed towards quality of research rather than quality of patient care but as far as I know there are no good comparative stats on patient care & quality is quality.[/quote]
From my experience, that is indeed skewed, unless you care to be a guinea pig A lot of interns there. very crowded.[/quote]
Yes it is crowded , thats because the Taiwanese know its the best. Like passing a restuarant in a foreign country, go where the locals like to eat.
The other benefit of a public hospital like NTU is that their reputation is important to them so quality of care is still high on the agenda. In the private hospitals like Mackay, priority number 1 is profit.
The assembly line is efficient and I haven’t found the quality of patient-care to suffer (at Chung Gang). Saw a neurosurgeon 2 weeks after first going to the hospital. Had an MRI five days later and was operated on two weeks after that. At home, I’d have had to wait four to six months to see the specialist and god knows how long to get the MRI. Emergency wards aren’t particularly crowded either. I seem to have gotten service quite quickly (within ten to fifteen minutes of arrival) whereas, at home I could wait for two, three or four or more hours.
I’d take the service at Chung Gang and quality of doctors any day over my home hospital.
A lot of interns there. very crowded.