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<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Health care with a difference - courtesy Taiwan
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to the commentary yesterday, 'Tame doctors' greed and protect patients', and wish to share my experience in Taiwan for comparison.
I saw two specialists in a large Taipei hospital for a 0.5cm lump which appeared on my foot two months ago. The first doctor, a dermatologist, assessed the lump and referred me to a plastic surgeon in the hospital for removal, if necessary. He waived his consultation charges as he 'did not do anything'.
The plastic surgeon I saw the same day recommended watchful waiting instead of surgical removal. In his opinion, more than 99 per cent of such lumps are benign, and I should just monitor it and 'save myself some money to enjoy several good meals'.
Again, I did not pay a single cent for consultation, even though there is a co-payment portion under Taiwan's national health insurance scheme.
Such medical ethics impressed me and is reason enough for me to love living in Taiwan.
Only once have I encountered such generosity in Singapore - my eye specialist in a government restructured hospital advised me to get a refund for the medical report fee I had already paid as he could write a personal referral letter to the eye specialist in Sydney, where I was moving.
Liu I Chun (Ms)
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->I REFER to the commentary yesterday, 'Tame doctors' greed and protect patients', and wish to share my experience in Taiwan for comparison.
I saw two specialists in a large Taipei hospital for a 0.5cm lump which appeared on my foot two months ago. The first doctor, a dermatologist, assessed the lump and referred me to a plastic surgeon in the hospital for removal, if necessary. He waived his consultation charges as he 'did not do anything'.
The plastic surgeon I saw the same day recommended watchful waiting instead of surgical removal. In his opinion, more than 99 per cent of such lumps are benign, and I should just monitor it and 'save myself some money to enjoy several good meals'.
Again, I did not pay a single cent for consultation, even though there is a co-payment portion under Taiwan's national health insurance scheme.
Such medical ethics impressed me and is reason enough for me to love living in Taiwan.
Only once have I encountered such generosity in Singapore - my eye specialist in a government restructured hospital advised me to get a refund for the medical report fee I had already paid as he could write a personal referral letter to the eye specialist in Sydney, where I was moving.
Liu I Chun (Ms)
