Friday, January 07, 2005

All by myself

Was feeling unwell yesterday and so took the morning off to see the doctors. I was so proud of myself for finally successfully negotiating Taiwan's medical system without having my hand held by one of the receptionists.

In Taiwan, if you want to see a doctor at a hospital, you must first go stand in line to register (10-15mins). After getting a number, you then go to another area ringed by smaller examination rooms and wait for your number to be called (10-15mins). After the examination (usu. <5mins), you then have to go back to the registration area to pay fees, including any presecriptions. Then, you get another number for the pharmacy, and go the that area to pick up any presecriptions (5-10mins). All in all, a rather complex process that can be confusing if you 1) don't read much Chinese, and 2) have a limited vocabulary. But I am learning, learning...

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