Had a conversation on Facebook with an old student who is now a nurse.... not her real name, of course:PAULA:
i think NHI is not used properly...
think about it, even drug abusers are sent into the hospital and the government pays for their treatment or people drink and drive and kill people in an car accident and the government pays for all their medical treatment
another thing is that,more and more Taiwanese people took this for granted they pay little when they go to the hospital and they see doctors and nurses with no respect because its cheap
NHI pay too little for medical staffs especially nurses so hospital wouldnt hire more nurses, they would rather pay more to doctors ( cuz NHI pay doctors by how many clients they treat)
too many things, this pyramid is going down
and one thing is that, families dont appreciate what doctors and nurses do they are getting more picky and complain about medical treatment
again, because it is too cheap what they are paying
NHI cover mostly 80-90%
i was upset by the news that a neurosurgeon has been sued by a patient who was paralyzed after brain surgery but he was nearly dead in a car accident
the doctor was sentenced to pay 30 million to the family
but, some other guy drinks and drives and causes people to die in a car accident
how much does he have to pay? like 2 or 3 million ridiculous
i work in the ICU sometimes i can really feel tense communication with the patient's family
its like they all assume that we are gonna harm them or something because they ve been watching bad things like this on TV before
media!
even after the patient is cured and goes home many times we hear doctors talk about "NHI refuse to pay them money (those medication and examination has been given and done on patients)
so the doctors have lots of paper work to do to write down the reason one by one why they chose to give that order because the NHI officer assumes that doctor wanted to make more money so they prescribe expensive medications
you see, this is the problem: there is only one pie for everyone to share
so hospital wouldnt give move money to the staff and it is too cheap
people dont cherish it
and they are not friendly to medical staff
so there are many news stories about doctors rather choosing to become plastic surgeons
no one wants to risk their life to be a heart surgeon or neuro surgeon
cuz they dont wanna ending up getting their ass in the jail or bringing themselves to the court and eventually having to pay lotttsssss of money to the patients
doctor and nurses are not God
well, from my experience, i just dont like some people who come into the ICU and notify me that their family or friends are someone famous or big
i just dont care
i got only two hands
thats stupid
im not saying everyone is like that
there are some family are really nice
but im concerned this is dragging everybody down
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I know some nurses, and some have blamed NHI for making people see a doctor for every tiny cough.
ReplyDeleteBut I have never heard anyone speak out so directly against NHI. Does anyone know if the media is using the (extremely unsatisfying!) pay for nurses to agitate against NHI in general? I hope Taiwan fixes the system before it breaks down, or is broken down by some sort of Tea Party.
Time to catch up with news!
Medical staff are not nicely considered, patients are more pushy, but at the end of the day global population is nicely cured, right ?
ReplyDeleteSome doctors choosed this job because they want to help, not for the reputation or the money.
I guess plastic surgeons can get sued too.
Wow. This is something I understand completely, having done a placement in a hospital in Taiwan last year. Isn't it ironic that the US and Taiwan has almost opposite models of health insurance, but doctors from both sides still need to practice defensive medicine?
ReplyDeleteI think part of the issue is the way organizations work in Taiwan -- all businesses and institutions underpay and overwork....
ReplyDeleteAs a conservative, I of course expected the socialized health care system to have these kinds of problems. The US health care system is heavily socialized as well, but in a different way.
ReplyDeleteIt is a mess. We don't want to let people die for lack of health care, and sick people can't be expected to go get a job to pay for their own health care, but we know that large scale socialized systems don't work.
Frankly I think we should start smaller. One simple reform would be to outlaw coverage caps, forbid health insurance companies from raising rates (beyond inflation) for existing coverage, and forbid dropping people's coverage.
Basically, if you get insurance, it should cover the bad stuff - especially long-term illnesses. Insuring someone until they get sick should be forbidden.
I remember when I lived in Taiwan and the health care market was more open. I did get sick once, but the cost for treatment was so low that a kind donation from someone covered the entire doctor visit (I was pretty poor at the time - I learned poverty is a quick way to lose weight). A doctor visit in America's much more regulated market at the time would have cost several times as much.
ReplyDeleteWhen I heard Taiwan was nationalizing health care and only covering residents, I figured in the future for a visitor would be a lot more expensive.
When I heard Taiwan was nationalizing health care and only covering residents, I figured in the future for a visitor would be a lot more expensive.
ReplyDeleteNo, it's not. The low prices extend throughout the system.
t is a mess. We don't want to let people die for lack of health care, and sick people can't be expected to go get a job to pay for their own health care, but we know that large scale socialized systems don't work.
...except in all the countries that they are implemented.
Read this carefully. Except for the preference for doctors over nurses, there is hardly anything here related to socialized health care.
Michael
Don't judges in Taiwan use expert witnesses in medical cases?
ReplyDeletenurses, policemen and so are overworked and underpaid everywhere
ReplyDeleteMichael - allow me the first time to disagree with you
do you know any country, where employees would say they are paid enough? i heard that too often while working here as a sales and mostly defended the employers
i learned to appreciate entrepreneurs and employers even more once i had my own business - it changes the angle ...
no one forbids anyone to set up your own business, nowhere
and lastly - what you just quoted here - means one thing - we all have simply have to save as much money as we can for when we retire
good economy and good life is gone for some time
@ Readin "...but we know that large scale socialized systems don't work.."
ReplyDeleteReally? Go do a poll in Canada, UK, Germany, Sweden, etc., etc. Ask how many people are in favor of dismantling their nationalized healthcare and adopting the American system (actually non-system) of healthcare.