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.
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