The best and worst hospitals in Taipei are...

[ImaniOU]

Okay, it's a teaser, but I would like to see what people think are the best and the worst as far as hospitals in Taipei are concerned. Some things to consider are service, cleanliness, staff, etc.

My favorite hospital is Cathay although I haven't been to the Adventist yet so I am holding out. Staff is good, the clinics nice and the wait is decent.

Conversely, the worst by far has been Wanfang Community. I think ER nurses freaking out at the sight of blood tarnished their reputation in my eyes. That and the doctor who treated my ankle wearing those blue plastic sandals which revealed his snaggled yellowed toenails. Couldn't help but think, "This guy is taking care of my feet?!"

I will add a poll as the responses roll in as far as the best hospital goes.

[daasgrrl]

I've only been to two - Adventist and Ren'ai (health check). They both seemed OK, although compared to what I'm used to the doctors seemed awfully... I'm not sure if the word is "efficient" or "superficial", or both.

I've seen a few specialists (not for me personally) and they were the fastest assembly lines of patients I've ever been on, so much so that it makes me question the quality of the the evaluation and advice. I actually think for the most part it *was* good medical care, but the speed makes me worry that it's easy to overlook something and obviously they were very short on explanations and alternatives. If there's anywhere in Taipei that has specialists who will actually spend time getting a feel for background, individual situation, etc., even at a price, I'd like to hear about it.

[Rascal]

Been to McKay for some minor thing, went on a Saturday and ended up in the ER, but the doctor wasn't really in a mood so he asked me to come back during normal clinic hours and got to the outpatient treatment.
Only after insisting he did a quick check and gave me some medicine for the weekend. The treatment at the clinic was ok.
As well been to Adventist a few times since it's near my office and the docs keep on telling me I am fine. One day I will believe them ...

BTW: are there any entirely private hospitals around here, i.e. those that do not take the NHI card? Just wondering.

[Flicka]

McKay is OK, but it can be awfully crowded sometimes. I've been to the one by where Dinghao's Tower Records used to be, the Tri-Service hospital and Rennai--no complaints, although Ren'ai is like a 60s time warp in side. The Tai-Da Hospital is the pits--they once checked that my colleague was pregnant on HIS health exam form.

I've had two tumors removed at the tiny, but clean Chong Ying Hospital in Banqiao's Wenhua Rd., and I think the quality of the staff of that boutique hospital is great, and they dope you up so much during procedures you are flying for the rest of the week--certainly no complaints there.

[daltongang]

I will add a poll as the responses roll in as far as the best hospital goes.

All in all I've found Chang-Gung to be the most professional. Like most of the other places it's just so damn crowded that I avoid going there though. But if I had to go to a hospital that's where I'd go.

[ImaniOU]

I don't know about Mackay. I walked to Mackay (or rather limped to) after being woken up with a severe leg cramp that left me screaming in pain. They took my blood pressure, pointed me to a room where the doctor took my paper, asked me what was wrong, and then told me to sit down outside without ever touching, let alone looking at my leg. Twenty minutes later a nurse came and shoved two injections into my arm, one a muscle relaxer and the other a pain reliever. My leg didn't get any better and it still hurt like hell for two days after. The arm that she injected was sore for three weeks after. I go there because it's at the end of my street, but considering the long waits and lackluster services, I might try limping to a taxi stand next time.

It's still better than a group of nurses crying out "Ai yooo!" and leaving me alone with the doctor when blood came from my ankle.

[sandman]

It's still better than a group of nurses crying out "Ai yooo!" and leaving me alone with the doctor when blood came from my ankle.

Wise girls. Foreigners can carry AIDS, surely you know that?

[twocs]

The clinic on Heping where it meets Fuxing is good enough for me. Dr. Yang speaks English, they take the NHI card, and he's only there after 7 pm. That's no problem for me, because I want to see a doctor only after work. He also runs the associated pharmacy next door, so when he prescribes something you go next door to pick it up.

The nurses don't really speak English but they are friendly, and they will just make you wait until the doctor is ready. There can be up to a 45 minute wait, but I don't mind so much. If I go at 6:45 I'll be first or second when the doctor gets there.

[Scuba]

The best hospital in Taiwan & apparently the 2nd best hospital in Asia/Pacific (after a hospital in Melbourne Australia) is NTUH (National Taiwan University Hospital).
The quality measures are skewed towards quality of research rather than quality of patient care but as far as I know there are no good comparative stats on patient care & quality is quality.

[Ben]

I spent a week getting a stomach ulcer treated at the Zhongshan hospital, in the Lanes behind the southeast corner of the DunHwa-RenAi circle.

I had only been in Taiwan for a couple months at that time, and it was the only hospital I knew (from living next door to it for my first 2 weeks in Taiwan), which is why I ended up there (through the ER at 4AM in the morning, no less). It's a smaller hospital, and I'm told that the word on the street in Taipei is that it's pretty good, even though it's not one of the large well known hospitals. Several friends have told me that it used to be a private hospital for government officials and the wealthy, so it must be pretty good.

Anyway, I thought the care I received was pretty good, and the followups were very professional. Then again, that was the first time in my life I've ever been to a hospital in any country, so I have nothing to compare against.