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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 |