US vs Taiwan healthcare system

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Which country has the best healthcare system?


  • Total voters
    37

doctorpanda

New Member
5+ Year Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2017
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
I'm a family medicine resident in Taiwan. I'm interested in the differences between the healthcare systems in the US and Taiwan. Taiwan is known for it's universal health insurance system and that posts a lot of problems alongside the benefits.
Since I will be writing about the Taiwan healthcare system in San Diego this August, I would like to meet doctors or medical students who are also interested in this topic around the area. If you would like to have some free discussion about the healthcare systems, feel free to contact me! I hope that with more understanding we can find the best solution to the healthcare world :)

Members don't see this ad.
 
You're posting in a solely US/Canada forum with a few IMGs whose goal is to study in the US. Talk about a conflict of interest.
Some thing I really won't ever understand is why Taiwanese society white worship so much. Literally you have TV shows in your country celebrating specifically racially driven relationships disguised as "progress".

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07256860903477704 <-- this article here is just one of the many that discusses east asian countries that are "westernized" and the problems in that society.
I know I'm hijacking your thread, but unless I see any actual progress addressing your question (which I don't see happening unless a Taiwanese American medical doctor/student has been to both hospitals instead of reading something online) I'm just going to go with it.


Source: am taiwanese, took me years to rewire myself and be proud to be an asian living in the west. Also know many half white half asian taiwanese kids from racist asian mothers and racist white expats who have mental illness problems due to the ironic circumstance of looking more asian as they grow up.
 
Last edited:
You're posting in a solely US/Canada forum with a few IMGs whose goal is to study in the US. Talk about a conflict of interest.
Some thing I really won't ever understand is why Taiwanese society white worship so much. Literally you have TV shows in your country celebrating specifically racially driven relationships disguised as "progress".

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07256860903477704 <-- this article here is just one of the many that discusses east asian countries that are "westernized" and the problems in that society.
I know I'm hijacking your thread, but unless I see any actual progress addressing your question (which I don't see happening unless a Taiwanese American medical doctor/student has been to both hospitals instead of reading something online) I'm just going to go with it.


Source: am taiwanese, took me years to rewire myself and be proud to be an asian living in the west. Also know many half white half asian taiwanese kids from racist asian mothers and racist white expats who have mental illness problems due to the conflicted problem of looking more asian as they grow up.


what the ????
start your own thread man...
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
Members don't see this ad :)
Just realized this has been posted twice.
USA vs Taiwan healthcare system.
Not sure if this thread fits in the medical students forum either.

Anyway, agree with some of the sentiments in the comment above.
There's going to be volunteer bias in whatever responses you get as this is a forum with a primarily American user base and audience, that will have no idea what the Taiwanese system is like.

I kinda wonder if that was your intent, by the way you framed the Taiwanese system - "a lot of problems" alongside, oh yea, benefits. As if you want to hear that the US system is better, which wouldn't be hard to net if you're asking an American forum. It's very likely I'm reading too much into it, but try to aim for some objectivity if you're doing research on this (despite the highly subjective nature of what you're asking). A healthcare system that works for one country with a different culture, society, taxation system etc. may not be translatable to another.

On the side, oshanimalia, it's interesting what you've brought up in the 'hijack' of this thread.
Reminds of me when Ghost in the Shell came out. There was this interesting interview conducted with Japanese & Japanese American actresses about the movie and its controversies: 'Ghost in the Shell': 4 Japanese Actresses Dissect the Movie and Its Whitewashing Twist. Perhaps most striking was this:
When THR interviewed Japanese fans about the whitewashing claims, they weren't bothered by it, and neither was Mamoru Oshii, who directed the 1995 anime version. How do you feel about their response?
Yoshihara:
People in Japan worship white people.
Kato-Kiriyama: Even in the story, there are Japanese people involved in creating these beings and they also may very well see the ideal human being as a white woman. So you're sort of messed up all the way around.
Agena: Yes! I felt more messed up watching this movie. It reinforced my own personal messed-up standards of physical beauty.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I remember in highschool, we had a family of taiwainese kids and they would ONLY date white folks. Worked out for kid's two sisters, not so great for him. Wonder where he is now, or if he finally managed to date some white girl.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Is this what allo has turned into?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I remember in highschool, we had a family of taiwainese kids and they would ONLY date white folks. Worked out for kid's two sisters, not so great for him. Wonder where he is now, or if he finally managed to date some white girl.

tight blondes brah
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I'm not sure why people always want to compare the US healthcare system to others, one of the most ignorant comparisons I have heard was how Cuba's healthcare is better than the US (and this was from a IM physician). I have never heard of someone going to Taiwan to obtain world class healthcare services or Cuba.

Not sure about Taiwan but the Cuban system is very good at primary care. No one would go there for tertiary services but if you live there the doctor and nurse responsible for your care (and the care of your neighbors) will be all over you to be sure that you are doing what you are supposed to do.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Not sure about Taiwan but the Cuban system is very good at primary care. No one would go there for tertiary services but if you live there the doctor and nurse responsible for your care (and the care of your neighbors) will be all over you to be sure that you are doing what you are supposed to do.

Data please?

Gracias
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Yes, data please. And preferably objective data not solely from Cuba self-reporting. I bet they make themselves look first class. I would enjoy reading about how this cruel dictator regime provides better primary care than the US and by default every nation on earth. Or you can simply retract that outrageous statement.

You are naive if you think that the US health care system provides the best primary care of every nation on earth.

Almost half of all pregnancies are unintended (mistimed or unwanted).
Unintended Pregnancy in the United States

Our infant mortality is far from the lowest in the world and ditto the mortality rate of children under 5 years of age.
List of countries by infant mortality rate - Wikipedia

One in three Americans have high blood pressure and only about half have it under control.
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Information | cdc.gov

I could go on.

My information on Cuba is a few years old and is based on a first-person account I heard from a physician/faculty member at my institution who visited there.
This WHO report from 9 years ago is interesting, too.
WHO | Cuba’s primary health care revolution: 30 years on
 
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users
in the US we've got the most expensive and innovative drugs available for rare diseases, and meanwhile tons of ppl dying of preventative diseases bc of healthcare insurance structure. Cuba is well known for having universal healthcare

Edit: I also thought it was well known that the US has one of the worst healthcare systems in terms of overall outcomes among developed countries...
 
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Members don't see this ad :)
You are naive if you think that the US health care system provides the best primary care of every nation on earth.

You won't find any posts by me bragging about the US health care system. Physicians, patients, government, third party payers, industry, et al....all have broken the medical system. It's in tatters.


My information on Cuba is a few years old and is based on a first-person account I heard from a physician/faculty member at my institution who visited there.
This WHO report from 9 years ago is interesting, too.
WHO | Cuba’s primary health care revolution: 30 years on

your reporting a first person account becomes a third person account to the reader. keep that in mind.

The WHO data is provided to WHO by Cuba's totalitarian government leaders. Cuba is a totalitarian regime. There is no First Amendment, no freedom of the press, no transparency, no accountability, no opposition. None of this is new information.

There are 3 levels of health care systems in Cuba: one for tourists, one for government leaders, one for the people.

For what its worth, physicians in Cuba earn $25 / month (US Dollars equivalent).
Most physicians in Cuba supplement their income by being taxi drivers, waiters at restaurants, or do "missionary" work to foreign countries for two reasons: it is good PR for Cuba, and it allows Cuban physicians to defect to other countries. the reason why Cuba has so many physicians (poorly educated, no advanced specialization, anyone gets to go to medical school) is because the Castro regime uses their physicians as trade: they provide physicians and Cuba in turn receives payment (e.g. Venezuela pays Cuba in petroleum for sending physicians to Venezuela)

If you ever go to Cuba, first you must deviate from your itinerary, walk the neighborhoods, enter the hospitals and speak to patients, staff and physicians.

Consider the data provided by Cubans underground :


Fabrication of First Misinformation About Cuba’s Public Health Achievements

“Facts pointing out successes during the colony and republic regarding public health have been systematically erased or distorted. Moreover, there are references to hemorrhagic dengue, peripheral neuritis and cholera in 1996–2013 reported to the world by dissidents, not by public health officials."


“The forced expansion of healthcare coverage and deceleration of integral health trends was due to the unnecessary and counterproductive take-over of the private, mutual and charity sectors by the state, with concentration of resources on national-transnational ideological, para-military, and military invasions and enterprises. The progressive decay of most nationalized industries and the ban on Cuban private firms and partnerships with Western firms in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and equipment industries have minimized public health and economic returns of investments in those industries. In 1985–2000 Cubans in progressively more miserable conditions reached physicians with insufficient resources to address their needs.”
other data sources from within Cuba underground:

Reordenamiento Laboral: Quién se queda, quién se va?; Labor Force Down-Sizing in Cuba’s Medical System
(Reorganizing Labor: Who is staying, who is going? - on Physicians fleeing Cuba)​

then there is Politifact.com

“….the combination of the Cuban government’s heavy-handed enforcement of statistical targets and the lack of transparency has led some experts to suggest taking the numbers with a grain of salt.”


Lastly, if you really want to understand the Cuban health care system, consider reading sources of information from within Cuba that are not sanctioned by the Cuban regime.

Here are some that have received international acclaim from human rights groups across the globe. Yoanni Sanchez is celebrated in many international forums but she is in Cuba and risks much to report what she sees.

 

Attachments

  • 1484236280_559243_1484321834_noticia_normal_recorte1.jpg
    1484236280_559243_1484321834_noticia_normal_recorte1.jpg
    42.9 KB · Views: 70
  • 1484324670_109070_1484324826_album_normal.jpg
    1484324670_109070_1484324826_album_normal.jpg
    116.5 KB · Views: 83
  • 1484324670_109070_1484324956_album_normal.jpg
    1484324670_109070_1484324956_album_normal.jpg
    99.7 KB · Views: 74
  • 1484324670_109070_1484324957_album_normal.jpg
    1484324670_109070_1484324957_album_normal.jpg
    89 KB · Views: 65
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I bet LizzyM is one of the fools who believes the self-reported statistics of Cuba. The reasoning here is unbelievably flawed and I'm amazed at the stupidity of many people like yourself.

your latter comments are harsh and not helpful. While you might be impassioned for the plight of Cuba, as am I, there's no need to shoot down Americans who are unaware. Considering data, truth and facts are suppressed in Cuba, obviously the world is not going to know the truth.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
No way LizzyM or any other American would subject themselves to the healthcare provided in Cuba.

this is generally true.

When Michael Moore did his fabricated film on Cuba's health system, he was shuttled around the island by communist leaders and used him as the rube that he is to showcase their revolutionary successes. Then Moore returned to America to live in his million dollar lifestyle
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
...meanwhile tons of ppl dying of preventative diseases bc of healthcare insurance structure.

I overheard in clinic recently something that puts your quote in perspective. A patient told another one in the waiting room "my doctor can't get my diabetes under control with these medications he is ordering"

I think that pretty much sums where the onus lies for most Americans: physicians are responsible for their maladies.

The healthcare insurance industry has nothing to do with Americans unwilling to be compliant with their treatment, follow medical counsel, lose the excess weight and exercise. It costs nothing to adopt nutritious eating habits and exercise regularly.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Dang, didn't expect this to actually escalate in some way or another. Anywho, glad some people understood where I'm coming from.
 
You are naive if you think that the US health care system provides the best primary care of every nation on earth.

Almost half of all pregnancies are unintended (mistimed or unwanted).
Unintended Pregnancy in the United States

Our infant mortality is far from the lowest in the world and ditto the mortality rate of children under 5 years of age.
List of countries by infant mortality rate - Wikipedia

One in three Americans have high blood pressure and only about half have it under control.
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Information | cdc.gov

I could go on.

My information on Cuba is a few years old and is based on a first-person account I heard from a physician/faculty member at my institution who visited there.
This WHO report from 9 years ago is interesting, too.
WHO | Cuba’s primary health care revolution: 30 years on

I can't believe you honestly believe this. Shocking!! I find this absolutely insulting to American physicians. The training and level of care provided by the American health care system shouldn't even be mentioned in the same sentence as the Cuban system which fabricates all their data.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
You won't find any posts by me bragging about the US health care system. Physicians, patients, government, third party payers, industry, et al....all have broken the medical system. It's in tatters.




your reporting a first person account becomes a third person account to the reader. keep that in mind.

The WHO data is provided to WHO by Cuba's totalitarian government leaders. Cuba is a totalitarian regime. There is no First Amendment, no freedom of the press, no transparency, no accountability, no opposition. None of this is new information.

There are 3 levels of health care systems in Cuba: one for tourists, one for government leaders, one for the people.

For what its worth, physicians in Cuba earn $25 / month (US Dollars equivalent).
Most physicians in Cuba supplement their income by being taxi drivers, waiters at restaurants, or do "missionary" work to foreign countries for two reasons: it is good PR for Cuba, and it allows Cuban physicians to defect to other countries. the reason why Cuba has so many physicians (poorly educated, no advanced specialization, anyone gets to go to medical school) is because the Castro regime uses their physicians as trade: they provide physicians and Cuba in turn receives payment (e.g. Venezuela pays Cuba in petroleum for sending physicians to Venezuela)

If you ever go to Cuba, first you must deviate from your itinerary, walk the neighborhoods, enter the hospitals and speak to patients, staff and physicians.

Consider the data provided by Cubans underground :


Fabrication of First Misinformation About Cuba’s Public Health Achievements

“Facts pointing out successes during the colony and republic regarding public health have been systematically erased or distorted. Moreover, there are references to hemorrhagic dengue, peripheral neuritis and cholera in 1996–2013 reported to the world by dissidents, not by public health officials."


“The forced expansion of healthcare coverage and deceleration of integral health trends was due to the unnecessary and counterproductive take-over of the private, mutual and charity sectors by the state, with concentration of resources on national-transnational ideological, para-military, and military invasions and enterprises. The progressive decay of most nationalized industries and the ban on Cuban private firms and partnerships with Western firms in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and equipment industries have minimized public health and economic returns of investments in those industries. In 1985–2000 Cubans in progressively more miserable conditions reached physicians with insufficient resources to address their needs.”
other data sources from within Cuba underground:

Reordenamiento Laboral: Quién se queda, quién se va?; Labor Force Down-Sizing in Cuba’s Medical System
(Reorganizing Labor: Who is staying, who is going? - on Physicians fleeing Cuba)​

then there is Politifact.com

“….the combination of the Cuban government’s heavy-handed enforcement of statistical targets and the lack of transparency has led some experts to suggest taking the numbers with a grain of salt.”


Lastly, if you really want to understand the Cuban health care system, consider reading sources of information from within Cuba that are not sanctioned by the Cuban regime.

Here are some that have received international acclaim from human rights groups across the globe. Yoanni Sanchez is celebrated in many international forums but she is in Cuba and risks much to report what she sees.


A voice of reason. Anyone who reads an article claiming any aspect of Cuban healthcare is better than the US should immediately question that statement, certainly doesn't seem intuitive. Most people with a minuscule amount of common sense know this isn't likely. Then doing a little research on the country will quickly reveal that Cuba is an awful country that doesn't provide decent healthcare for its citizens.

LizzyM's statements are surprising, I expect a medical school faculty member to know better.

As for LizzyM's comparisons regarding infant mortality, pregnancy, and blood pressure; those don't necessarily correlate with the quality of care as much as they do with motivation of lazy Americans. Something I wouldn't expect a non clinician faculty to understand.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
You are naive if you think that the US health care system provides the best primary care of every nation on earth.

Almost half of all pregnancies are unintended (mistimed or unwanted).
Unintended Pregnancy in the United States

Our infant mortality is far from the lowest in the world and ditto the mortality rate of children under 5 years of age.
List of countries by infant mortality rate - Wikipedia

One in three Americans have high blood pressure and only about half have it under control.
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Information | cdc.gov

I could go on.

My information on Cuba is a few years old and is based on a first-person account I heard from a physician/faculty member at my institution who visited there.
This WHO report from 9 years ago is interesting, too.
WHO | Cuba’s primary health care revolution: 30 years on

A lot of what you stated is cultural. I believe it is wrong to blame the primary care/medical system of these results. I frequently visit china. Most of their kids are timed/wanted, why? Because they have a limit on # of kids. Nothing to do with medicine.
Patients there also respect and follow doctors 'orders'. In the US, doctors are all consultants, and merely provide 'recommendations'. Patients then proceed to decide if its worth following it or not and this of course leads to significant non compliance.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
A lot of what you stated is cultural. I believe it is wrong to blame the primary care/medical system of these results. I frequently visit china. Most of their kids are timed/wanted, why? Because they have a limit on # of kids. Nothing to do with medicine.
Patients there also respect and follow doctors 'orders'. In the US, doctors are all consultants, and merely provide 'recommendations'. Patients then proceed to decide if its worth following it or not and this of course leads to significant non compliance.

Just want to interject in that they no longer have a limit on those children. Also want to dispel the myth that Chinese parents usually want a son because of "tradition" or "typical Asian patriarchy". That's what Disney's Mulan wants you to think.

It's actually more financially sound to raise a single daughter than a son because the modern culture dictates a son to hold "wealth" and "status" before even being considered for marriage (as the saying goes among high school girls "Yo che yo fang", aka "must have a car and a house", mostly of which is provided by the supporting parents because no average Chinese guy is able to afford the two at his mid twenties).
 
Japan has what I would describe as objectively the best health care of the countries listed.

Not sure if I agree with this, but at least you're not making a ridiculous statement like @LizzyM stating Cuba has excellent primary care. What is her next ridiculous thought, maybe that North Korea provides great primary care too?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Just want to interject in that they no longer have a limit on those children. Also want to dispel the myth that Chinese parents usually want a son because of "tradition" or "typical Asian patriarchy". That's what Disney's Mulan wants you to think.

It's actually more financially sound to raise a single daughter than a son because the modern culture dictates a son to hold "wealth" and "status" before even being considered for marriage (as the saying goes among high school girls "Yo che yo fang", aka "must have a car and a house", mostly of which is provided by the supporting parents because no average Chinese guy is able to afford the two at his mid twenties).

You are referring to the 1 child policy. There is still a limit, it's just 2 child policy now.
 
Japan has what I would describe as objectively the best health care of the countries listed.

I dont know the data on this, or if there even is any, but what is included in healthcare? Japan has longest life expectancy. But how much of this is cultural behaviors and diets vs how much is truly due to healthcare? Obesity rate is 1/10th of what it is in Japan compared to the US. With that alone you will have fewer complications and decreased risk in almost every major diseases killing people
 
I dont know the data on this, or if there even is any, but what is included in healthcare? Japan has longest life expectancy. But how much of this is cultural behaviors and diets vs how much is truly due to healthcare? Obesity rate is 1/10th of what it is in Japan compared to the US. With that alone you will have fewer complications and decreased risk in almost every major diseases killing people

Exactly, adjusting various metrics in a handful of ways could make many countries appear to have the best healthcare. The culture and numerous other factors determine patient outcomes as much as anything. Often times, this argument seems to be rooted in the thought of, that country has the best primary care and they have universal health care. Often times this is extremely misleading as evidenced by @LizzyM stating Cuban healthcare was "very good at primary care." I would also argue they are very good at fabricating data.
 
You won't find any posts by me bragging about the US health care system. Physicians, patients, government, third party payers, industry, et al....all have broken the medical system. It's in tatters.




your reporting a first person account becomes a third person account to the reader. keep that in mind.

The WHO data is provided to WHO by Cuba's totalitarian government leaders. Cuba is a totalitarian regime. There is no First Amendment, no freedom of the press, no transparency, no accountability, no opposition. None of this is new information.

There are 3 levels of health care systems in Cuba: one for tourists, one for government leaders, one for the people.

For what its worth, physicians in Cuba earn $25 / month (US Dollars equivalent).
Most physicians in Cuba supplement their income by being taxi drivers, waiters at restaurants, or do "missionary" work to foreign countries for two reasons: it is good PR for Cuba, and it allows Cuban physicians to defect to other countries. the reason why Cuba has so many physicians (poorly educated, no advanced specialization, anyone gets to go to medical school) is because the Castro regime uses their physicians as trade: they provide physicians and Cuba in turn receives payment (e.g. Venezuela pays Cuba in petroleum for sending physicians to Venezuela)

If you ever go to Cuba, first you must deviate from your itinerary, walk the neighborhoods, enter the hospitals and speak to patients, staff and physicians.

Consider the data provided by Cubans underground :


Fabrication of First Misinformation About Cuba’s Public Health Achievements

“Facts pointing out successes during the colony and republic regarding public health have been systematically erased or distorted. Moreover, there are references to hemorrhagic dengue, peripheral neuritis and cholera in 1996–2013 reported to the world by dissidents, not by public health officials."


“The forced expansion of healthcare coverage and deceleration of integral health trends was due to the unnecessary and counterproductive take-over of the private, mutual and charity sectors by the state, with concentration of resources on national-transnational ideological, para-military, and military invasions and enterprises. The progressive decay of most nationalized industries and the ban on Cuban private firms and partnerships with Western firms in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and equipment industries have minimized public health and economic returns of investments in those industries. In 1985–2000 Cubans in progressively more miserable conditions reached physicians with insufficient resources to address their needs.”
other data sources from within Cuba underground:

Reordenamiento Laboral: Quién se queda, quién se va?; Labor Force Down-Sizing in Cuba’s Medical System
(Reorganizing Labor: Who is staying, who is going? - on Physicians fleeing Cuba)​

then there is Politifact.com

“….the combination of the Cuban government’s heavy-handed enforcement of statistical targets and the lack of transparency has led some experts to suggest taking the numbers with a grain of salt.”


Lastly, if you really want to understand the Cuban health care system, consider reading sources of information from within Cuba that are not sanctioned by the Cuban regime.

Here are some that have received international acclaim from human rights groups across the globe. Yoanni Sanchez is celebrated in many international forums but she is in Cuba and risks much to report what she sees.


So true
 
You are naive if you think that the US health care system provides the best primary care of every nation on earth.

Almost half of all pregnancies are unintended (mistimed or unwanted).
Unintended Pregnancy in the United States

Our infant mortality is far from the lowest in the world and ditto the mortality rate of children under 5 years of age.
List of countries by infant mortality rate - Wikipedia

One in three Americans have high blood pressure and only about half have it under control.
High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) Information | cdc.gov

I could go on.

My information on Cuba is a few years old and is based on a first-person account I heard from a physician/faculty member at my institution who visited there.
This WHO report from 9 years ago is interesting, too.
WHO | Cuba’s primary health care revolution: 30 years on

The behavior and choices that patients make doesn't equate the quality of healthcare they receive. The US population has a large unhealthy portion that would be much worse off without the exceptional healthcare provided in the United States of America.
 
Not sure about Taiwan but the Cuban system is very good at primary care. No one would go there for tertiary services but if you live there the doctor and nurse responsible for your care (and the care of your neighbors) will be all over you to be sure that you are doing what you are supposed to do.

Embarrassing from someone that is a medical school admissions faculty member. Your silence in defending this position is deafening.
 
With regard to Cuba providing a respectable health care system, it appears the world wide news media has provided a glimpse of how the government of Cuba cant even provide respectable buildings and infrastructure. Irma has shown how decrepit Cuba's infrastructure is. The photos are heartbreaking of Havana post Irma

Hurricane Irma Crashes Across Northern Cuba
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Not sure about Taiwan but the Cuban system is very good at primary care. No one would go there for tertiary services but if you live there the doctor and nurse responsible for your care (and the care of your neighbors) will be all over you to be sure that you are doing what you are supposed to do.

I'm not surprised that you haven't returned to this thread to defend this ludicrous statement. Although, I'm sure you'll admit, it is indefensible.

Out of curiosity, how will the doctor and nurse "be all over you to be sure you are doing what you are supposed to do?"
 
Top