Professional administrators take care of non-medical tasks

Li Chun-hou lived in the United States for two decades before returning to China in 2002. Having experienced the medical services in both Los Angeles and New York and her hometown Taipei, she said that the medical systems in the US and Taiwan are similar as private hospitals and medical insurance play the most important roles.

She said unlike the Chinese mainland, where patients can go to see a doctor at anytime, patients in the US have to make an appointment to see a doctor. Sometimes they have to wait for three or four days before they receive treatment, even for something as simple as a cold. If they want to see a doctor sooner they may have to go to a clinic or a hospital emergency room.

Also unlike the Chinese mainland, a doctor in the US will only treat around 20 patients a day. Most big employers in the US buy medical insurance for their full-time employees, and many households will also buy their own medical insurance.

Taiwan's medical system has undergone a lot of changes in the past few decades and private hospitals are at the forefront of the island's medical system. "Most experienced doctors have now switched to private hospitals as they can make more money," said Li.

A doctor's income can double or even triple if they switch to a private hospital, according to Fan Jen-hua, a doctor at the Shire-Clinic in Taipei, who said another advantage of working at a private hospital was doctors didn't have administrative duties.

"Running a hospital should be separate from treating patients. Private hospitals are better managed than public ones in Taiwan because another professional group is in charge of running the hospital," said Fan.

"Although many doctors on the mainland still prefer the 'iron bowl' of working in a public hospital, I believe that the private ones will become the mainstream in the future," he said.