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Taiwan
How Taiwan's universal National Health Insurance system shapes the way patients access care, use medications, and relate to providers.
01
Healthcare system (coverage & access)
- Universal coverage provided to all citizens as a government benefit via National Health Insurance (NHI), with ~99% coverage.
- No waiting lists — patients receive care as soon as a doctor has availability, and can see specialists without referrals.
- NHI covers all medical services; care is known as “cheap and abundant,” with one of the lowest administrative costs in the world.
- Out-of-pocket costs are capped at roughly 221 NT (~$7). An NHI card is issued to anyone residing in Taiwan.
02
Approaches to medication
- The NHI MediCloud program organizes each patient’s medical profile on a digital platform.
- Tracks medications to prevent overprescription, manages reimbursement, and keeps a full history of past treatments.
03
How patients view providers
- Because care is government-provided, doctors often overprescribe to avoid patients feeling the government is “being cheap.”
- Patients frequently visit multiple doctors for the same illness (“doctor shopping”) and often go to major hospitals for minor illnesses.
04
Helpful to know
- Patients expect to leave every visit with a medication and feel shortchanged if they don’t — which drives unnecessary prescribing.
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