INTERNATIONAL PATIENT CENTER (Jen-Ai Hospital-Tali) 483, Dong Rong Road, Tali City, Taichung County (04) 2481-9900, ext. 1995 ; English website: http://www.jah.org.tw/english.asp

Taiwan's first International Patient Center (IPC) has been launched by Jen-Ai Hospital (Tali to meet the needs of foreign patients. The IPC offers a wide variety of services designed to take non-Taiwanese through the often-daunting process of seeking medical assistance in another culture and language. With bilingual volunteers, the hospital intends to provide free interpreter services to patients, with efforts to provide services in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Thai, Tagalog, Cantonese and other languages. Volunteers will be available during regular hospital hours to accompany patients to medical appointments and assist in communicating with staff. For emergencies, the IPC is also able to arrange telephone interpretation via conference calls. However, the hospital strongly suggests that patients call at least three days in advance of their appointment, so that specific interpreters can be arranged. To help introduce Taiwan's medical care process, the hospital has specially designed the IPC website (http://www.jah.org.tw/english/international.asp), as an extension of the English website (see above). The website offers hospital process flow diagrams, an introduction to the program, physician schedules and on-line appointment request forms. Bilingual floor maps and signs also help international patients find various locations within the hospital. The IPC provides the following services: scheduling follow-up care, health examinations and other medical care; admission/discharge assistance; preparing diagnosis and certification documents; translating medical documents for use after returning back home; simplifying financial transactions; and arranging delivery of meals catered to Western tastes. For additional information about the program, please contact Project Manager Mark K. Chan at mchan@mail.jah.org.tw