Taiwan does a lot of things right. Recycling is REALLY big here. Obviously, when your country is an island, you'll run out of room for trash eventually! You have to pay for plastic bags at most places which means that you tend to carry reusable bags with you at all times...at least I do. Public transportation (although contributing to the pollution problem a bit) is fantastic--reliable and easy to use. Eating out can be downright cheap--with no added tax or tip (it's not culturally required) and street food just about everywhere, you can have a good meal for not much money.
Taiwan also does a lot of things that just seem a little wrong. Air pollution in Taipei is a big deal, but about once a month, almost every business rolls out their little fire bucket and burns paper "ghost" money. Other times of the year, fire crackers fill the air with smoke. I've also realized that if you happen to have a problem with..let's say, the toilet in your apartment...it may take many visits from the plumber in order to fix the problem. Eventually, the problem seems "unfixable," and they'll just replace your entire toilet--but not before making a huge mess and using your bath towels to mop up the icky stuff.
Then, there are things about Taiwan that I'm torn about being more right or more wrong. Let's talk about the National Health Insurance. Now, I rather think this is wonderful! I can go to the doctor's office, have labs done or x-rays take, meet with the doctor for a follow-up appointment, and pick up several prescription medications all for about $15. What a bargain! However, you can't have the NHI without discussing the actual process of visiting the doctor...
Last week, I decided enough was enough. I've had an annoying little cough since before Christmas, and recently, I experienced some weird instances of not being able to breathe very well. I thought I may be getting asthma or that perhaps the pollution was catching up to me. So, I decided to go to see a Doctor. (Last year, I did this process for the first time, and after I describe it, you may find me very courageous or a little crazy!)
Here's what a visit to the doctor looks like in Taiwan (at least for me):
First off, I wanted to pre-register for my appointment at the Hospital. Although there are lots of clinics at various locations, I've been "doctoring" for all my two visits at the hospital across the street from my school. They have an outpatient clinic, and it's VERY convenient.
Since I already had a file number from my visit last year, I went online and found the English website for the hospital (very handy). Now, doctors are very specialized in Taiwan, and when you make an appointment, you see the doctor whose speciality is what ails you. So, I looked in the Pulmonary department. (You might think this is obvious, but sometimes you just don't know what's wrong or where your ailment lies. One of our male teachers had a benign cyst of some sort under his skin and was sent to the "Breast" doctor...yep, a little awkward to be sure.) Last year, I went to the hospital for a urinary tract infection. I didn't know what kind of doctor to see, and of course, I didn't speak Chinese and was alone. Try "acting out" that type of illness to a non-English speaking receptionist! She sent me to the gastroenterologist, and he looked at me like I was crazy. However, I think he sensed my frustration after he told me I was in the wrong place and treated me in spite of the mix up. By the way, if this happens to you, and you're in Taiwan, I now know that you need to see an "Infectious Diseases" doctor...yep, a little different.
Anyway, I selected a 9:00-12:00 appointment for Monday and was assigned room 216 and the number 27.
Monday at 9:00am.
I walk across the street and arrive in the hospital lobby where at least a hundred people are milling about. I am the only foreigner to be seen, and I get a fair amount of stares as I walk in. (Now, I learned the hard way last year and spent much more time at the hospital than I needed to because of my ignorance of procedure. I will give myself a little leeway since I can't read any sign OR understand most of what anyone says....) The first thing you do is take a number from the little machine (like at the Target customer service counter). I was number 215. There's a long desk along one wall that serves as the registration counter. There are about 10 different stations for registering, and digital signs top each station. As patients are registered, a new number is called and flashed on the screen. They were at 127.
Now, I really wasn't sure if I need to wait in line. I had pre-registered, but I didn't have any paper that listed my appointment. So, I got in the line that said "Information." When I got to the counter, I asked if she spoke English. She shook her head "no" and immediately dialed up the interpreter on the phone--Hooray! Where was the interpreter last year?! I asked if I needed to be waiting in line, and the friendly voice said that I could go directly to the room. Pre-registering is definitely the way to go!
So, up the stairs I go. When you arrive on the 2nd floor, you enter a very long and wide hallways with seats down the middle and doors on both sides. Interestingly, a couple of hospital beds (with patients lying in them and attached to all sorts of tubes) are parked outside of some of the doors. I found room 216. (I didn't take any pictures because I thought it might be considered inappropriate, but just try to picture this setting.) There is a digital sign above the door that is flashing the next number. It says 42. Uh-oh! Now, what do I do? I see a piece of paper tacked under the sign with LOTS of names (in Chinese, of course) listed next to numbers. I scan down the list and find my name (written in Chinese-aren't you impressed?!). The nurse sees me looking at the list, and she beckons me to come into the room.
Okay, so here's what the room looks like. Two large desks are sitting perpendicular to one another. Computers sit prominently on each desktop. An exam table sits at the back, and there are a variety of posters detailing the lungs on the walls (whew, at least I'm in the right place this time!) The nurse is sitting in the first desk. I hand her my NHI card, and she sticks it in a machine, and my entire Taiwan health history pops up on the doctor's computer. I am asked to sit in a chair next to the doctor that looks like it came out of our first grade classroom. The doctor didn't look at me, but grunted something in Chinese. I asked if he spoke English, and then he finally looked at me and said, "yes." I went on to tell him why I was there. He took out a stethoscope and listened to me breathe. Then, he typed something into his computer and he said something to the nurse. The next thing I know, I'm handed my NHI card and a piece of paper. I was told to go to the 1st floor and get an x-ray.
Down I go--back to the lobby area. Sure enough, there's a sign that points to radiology. I stop by a window, and hand the worker my stuff. She punches a bunch of things into a computer, and suddenly, and nurse or someone tells me to take off my clothes. Okay, now seriously, I'm literally in the middle of tons of people! I think she saw my shocked look, because she pointed to a sign that said "Changing Room." She told me to change, and then come back to the door next to the little window where I had first stopped. Nice. I went to the changing room and found some lovely pea green gowns to change into. Unfortunately, I'm a little larger than your average Taiwanese patient...yeah, not such a great fit. So I kept my pants on and figured I'd be okay since we were taking pictures of my lungs. I folded up my clothes and carried them back to the x-ray room. In all of 1 minute, I was done and waiting in the hallway to see if it turned out. 2 minutes later, the tech came out and told me I could go back to the doctor.
After changing, I headed back upstairs to room 216. I sat back down in the chair, and the doctor was already looking at my x-ray. Fast service! Meanwhile, another patient entered the room and began talking to the nurse. (This seems to be quite normal practice. Last year, there were two other patients in the room while I was meeting with the doctor...not a lot of privacy here in Taiwan.) After a couple of minutes of looking, he pronounced by x-ray "clear" and proceeded to type a bunch more things into the computer. Then, the nurse printed out a paper, and the doctor told me to take the paper to the cashier, pay, and pick up medicine in the pharmacy on the 1st floor. So, then I asked the question that seemed to irritate him a bit..."So, what's wrong with me?" And this, no exaggerating folks, is his answer to that question: Don't drink cold water. Don't eat spicy or sweet foods." I thought that perhaps he had misunderstood, so I asked again, "Okay, but why do I need to take medicine? What do you think is wrong with me?" Once again, he replied with the exact same answer.
Well then, I guess I just had to be satisfied with knowing that I had the "Don't Drink Cold Water or Eat Spicy or Sweet Foods Disease." (I wonder if it's infectious?! At least I know what doctor to go to next time if it is!) Oh, by the way, in an effort to stay hydrated in case I needed to have some kind of *urine test, I was drinking bottled water in the doctor's office. After his diagnosis, both he and the nurse looked at me rather strangely. I drank one last slug of cold water and sheepishly put the bottle in my bag.
I made my way across the hall and waited in another line to pay the cashier. Eventually, I got to the window and handed her my print-outs that the nurse had given me. The total was 640NTD or around $17. The cashier gave me a receipt, and I went back downstairs to the pharmacy (which is just across the hall from the radiology lab). I went to the window and handed the pharmacist my receipt. She went to a bin and pulled out 3 different bags stapled together. She said, "3 a day, okay?!" After a bit of sign language and my very limited attempt at Chinese, I figured out that I had a week's worth of medicine of 3 different types--3 doses a day. I took the bags, and headed out the door.
It was 9:55.
When I got back to school, I looked up my prescriptions on Google (they were unfamiliar names): a "Tylenol-type" med for fever (I didn't know I had a fever. I wonder how the Doctor knew since he never took my temp?!), an antibiotic (to cure my DDCWDESOSF Disease, no doubt), and a cough suppressant (seems a little obvious:). I've been taking the meds, but I've noticed that I've still got a bit of a cough. If it's not gone in a week or two, I guess I'll head back for round two in the quest to cure DDCWDESOSF Disease!
So, you decide--more on the right or wrong side? The Taiwan health system is incredibly efficient. There is no such thing as sitting in the waiting room, and then finally being called to only sit some more in a cold exam room until a Doctor finally appears. There is no such thing as waiting days for lab results or an hour for x-rays. There is no such thing as tussles with the insurance company. There is no such thing as exorbitant prescription costs or fees. There is also no such thing as bed-side manner. There is no such thing as a "personal touch." As a matter of fact, I have never had my temperature or blood pressure taken while in Taiwan. I have also never stepped on a scale (which is fine by me) or had my height measured at the Doctor's office (only at the Dept. of Motor Vehicles--but that's a story from last year)
(Also, funny thing, a friend here in Taiwan had bronchitis over Christmas Break. When I shared my "diagnosis," she laughed! She had also been diagnosed with DDCWDESOSF Disease by one of the 3 Doctors she visited! Perhaps it is infectious...I'd better wear a surgical mask to school tomorrow....)
So, here I sit, praying that I never have to spend the night in a Taiwan hospital...I can only imagine the great adventure.... Here's to staying healthy!
*Urine test procedure. Go to a window with a note from the doctor. The nurse will give you a small cup and a test tube. You are to walk across the hall to the bathroom. The only facilities available are squatties. You do your business and fill your test tube. Then, you carry this back across the hall (filled with people) to the window. You plop the test tube onto a rack, and take a note back to the doctor. After waiting for 30 minutes, the results are in, and you're summoned back to the doctor's office for a diagnosis.
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