The number of Taiwanese patients kept on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machines accounts for half the world’s total, National Yang-Ming University Hospital doctor Chen Hsiu-tan (陳秀丹) said.
The number of Taiwanese patients kept on ventilators is also remarkably high at 5.8 times the number of US patients, Chen said.
“If there is no way for the patient to recover and no way to reduce their pain, then [the machines] just interfere with natural death,” Chen said, adding that European nations discourage long-term life support for irrecoverable patients, using life-sustaining machines for two weeks on average.
Last year, NT$11.31 billion (US$369 million) was spent to keep patients on ventilator machines — 2 percent of annual health insurance spending — with 16,902 patients kept on the machines for an average of at least 20 days, according to National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) data.
The average cost of keeping a patient on ventilation was about NT$700,000, the data showed.
According to the NHIA, 1,701 patients relied on ECMO machines to sustain cardiorespiratory functions last year, spending an average of 7.9 days connected to the machines.
Chen said life support systems play an important role in saving patients undergoing emergency surgery, but added that the machines cannot help irrecoverable patients other than maintaining their pulmonary functions.
Chen cited a case in which an irrecoverable patient was kept on an ECMO machine for 116 days, costing the NHIA NT$2.02 million.
“Many patients end up with a mess of tubes attached to them. It is as though we are holding back a life that is slowly slipping away and they all repeat the same phrase: ‘I am in great pain,’” he said.
Chen said doctors and the public should be better educated about human life and learn how to best help patients at the final stages of their lives.
Chen said health insurance policies should also be revised to curb the about NT$10 billion spent every year on life support systems, adding that the use of the machines fails to help patients in pain.
The machines should be considered ineffective treatment when it is known that a patient has no hope of recovering, National Yang-Ming University Hospital superintendent Tang Kao-chun (唐高駿) said.
In most cases the doctor is driven by a desire to help the patient, the family is unwilling to let their relative go or there is some other motivation, such as collecting health insurance compensation, Tang said.
Tang said the use of advance medical directives should be promoted and families should be encouraged to abandon the idea that letting an irrecoverable relative die does not mean failing to practice filial piety.
It is normal for people to have difficulty letting their relatives go, NHIA Medical Affairs Division head Parng I-ming (龐一鳴) said.
“If it were your relative at that stage of their life could you let them go?” Parng said.
The number of patients kept on ventilators fell from 22,902 in 2014 to 16,902 last year, Parng said, adding that it showed the public’s approach to the issue is changing.
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
RSS