Total hospital visits in Taiwan exceeded 380 million last year, more than the number of visits before the COVID-19 pandemic, with visits for cancer and chronic disease treatment having the highest growth rates, National Health Insurance (NHI) data showed.
The annual number of hospital visits last year was about 40 million higher than the previous year, or a 13 percent growth rate, and exceeded the 370 million visits in 2019 before the pandemic.
The highest growth rates were in the hematology and oncology departments for hospitals and endocrinology departments for local clinics, indicating that demand for cancer and chronic disease treatment increased the most.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
Hospital visits fell to 340 million and 310 million in 2020 and 2021 respectively due to the pandemic, and rebounded to 340 million in 2022 and 380 million last year, NHI statistics showed.
Of the hospital visits last year, about 190 million were at local clinics, with the number of visits increasing 55.26 percent for endocrinology clinics, 36.51 percent for psychiatric clinics and 23.24 percent for urology clinics.
The number of visits to hospitals’ hematology and oncology departments rose 22.72 percent, followed by 17.31 percent for rheumatology and immunology departments and 16.2 percent for ophthalmology departments.
During the COVID-19 pandemic there were limited hospital beds and some patients might have been scared to visit hospitals, so there could be a higher number of cases in which diagnosis and treatment has been delayed, National Health Insurance Administration Department of Medical Affairs Director Liu Lin-i (劉林義) said yesterday.
Many people with chronic illnesses might have opted to get follow-ups at local clinics, hence the significant increase in visits to endocrinology clinics, which could also be beneficial for the triage of hospitals, he said.
Another reason for the increase in hospital visits post-COVID-19 is that more people are seeing a doctor for flu-like illnesses, Liu added.
The effect of immunity debt continues, so there are still many people who see a doctor for the flu or COVID-19 even in the summer, causing increased hospital visits, Taiwan Medical Association chairman Chou Ching-ming (周慶明) said.
As for why visits to endocrinology clinics and urology clinics have risen, Chou said it could be associated with Taiwan’s aging society, adding that psychiatric clinic visits have always been growing, probably because “everyone is too anxious.”
Considering the post-COVID-19 rebound in hospital visits, the aging population, the development of new drugs and technology, and insufficient copayments and control over hospital referrals, it is likely that hospital visits would continue to increase, Taiwan College of Healthcare Executive head Hung Tzu-jen (洪子仁) said.
Hung said that visits to hematology, oncology, rheumatology and immunology departments increased the most, because in the past four years, there was a rapid advancement in precise medicine, regenerative medicine, immunotherapy and new cancer treatments.
Many new targeted therapies enable patients to prolong their lives, so the number of hospital visits have increased, he said.
The government’s plan to expand cancer screening programs to cover younger people is a good policy, as it allows early detection and treatment of cancers, which would increase people’s life expectancy, Hung said.
However, the government must also seriously consider if there would be sufficient funds for cancer drugs in the future, because once a cancer treatment is proven effective and included in the NHI system, it rapidly increases NHI medical expenses, he said.
Once lives are prolonged, hospital visits and medical expenses would inevitably increase, Hung said, adding that the NHI system must speed up its reform to be sustainable.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS