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.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS