More than NT$1.7 billion (US$55.55 million) in medical resources were wasted last year because people did not return to hospitals to check the results of their computerized tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, with some even retaking the tests at other hospitals, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) said.
Failure to return to a hospital within 30 days of getting scans done is not only a waste of resources, but also puts an unnecessary burden on hospital staff, NHIA Director-
General Lee Po-chang (李伯璋) said on Saturday last week.
There were 127,000 cases of people not collecting their CT scan results within 30 days last year — or 15 percent of the total number of CT scans — wasting about NT$560 million of resources, the agency said.
Moreover, there were 42,000 cases of people retaking the same test at different hospitals, accounting for 5 percent of the total and wasting NT$180 million, it said.
A total of 88,000 cases of MRI scans — or 16 percent of the total — were also not collected last year, resulting in NT$720 million in wasted resources, the agency said, adding that there were 37,000 cases of tests being retaken at other hospitals, which cost NT$300 million.
Annual health insurance expenditure totals about NT$600 billion, and the agency is having a hard time keeping up with the costs, it said.
Lee said he did not know how severe the issue of wasted resources was until he scrutinized the data.
The problem might be due to the misconception that hospitals would notify people about the scan results instead of patients returning to pick them up, Lee said.
Another possibility is that people feel there is nothing wrong with them and so do not feel the need to get the results, he said.
Aside from CT and MRI scans, there are more than 1 million tests conducted by hospitals annually whose results are not picked up, he said.
These include X-ray, ultrasound, pathology, urinary and blood tests for cholesterol levels and to analyze risks of heart disease, he said.
Lee urged doctors to be more alert to potential waste of resources and to talk to patients about the importance of getting their test results and having them explained by a doctor.
Cutting wastefulness will keep health insurance costs from rising, which benefits the public, he said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Seven of the 17 NT$10 million (US$311,604) winning receipts from the November-December uniform invoice lottery remain unclaimed as of today, the Ministry of Finance said, urging winners to redeem their prizes by May 5. The reminder comes ahead of the release of the winning numbers for the January-February lottery tomorrow. Among the unclaimed receipts was one for a NT$173 phone bill in Keelung, while others were for a NT$5,913 purchase at Costco in Taipei's Neihu District (內湖), a NT$49 purchase at a FamilyMart in New Taipei City's Tamsui District (淡水), and a NT$500 purchase at a tea shop in New Taipei City's
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
RSS