Getting Meds in Taiwan

One of the things a western foreigner must adjust to when living in Taiwan is how the medical system works, specifically when it comes to doctor visits and getting prescription medication.

Walk-in clinics abound in Taiwan, as do both traditional Chinese and Western medicine pharmacies. In any major city one doesn't need to go too far to find either. The doctors (i.e. General/Family Practitioners) that work in these clinics usually speak a fairly good level of English (being highly educated folk), however, some doctors are not as reliable as others. Several years ago some American missionary friends of ours took their daughter to a doctor to see about getting a prescription for her allergies. The doctor prescribed a certain medication for her. Before giving it to her however, they decided to do some research on it on the internet. Turns out the medication in question was some kind of psychotropic drug. Needless to say they didn't have her take the drug.

That brings me to my first point - you can never be too sure what you are getting when a doctor prescribes medication for you in Taiwan! I know the doctors intentions are not in question, but they do not offer a whole lot of information as to what they are actually prescribing. The foreigner should always research the drug on the internet. Typically when a clinic dispenses medication, they put the pills in little packages (one package for each dose - see picture for reference). It is often difficult for the foreigner to know exactly what he/she is taking, as the package does not contain any drug information. You do get a receipt, which probably has the names of the drugs on it, but I have a hard enough time reading drug information in English, let alone Chinese.

Another interesting thing that doctors do here is that when prescribing antibiotics they only prescribe 3 days' worth. Now, everything I have learned in Canada about antibiotics is that you must take at least 7 to 10 days worth in order to be effective. This also prevents the bacteria from developing a resistance to the drug before it is completely eradicated. What the doctors here will tell you is to take 3 days' worth and then come back to see them to see if the drug is working. If it is, they will give you the remaining 5-7 days' worth. If not, they prescribe a different antibiotic for another 3 days. I guess there is some wisdom in that, but it does make for multiple trips to the clinic whereas in Canada they give you the whole 7-10 days' worth from the start.

The final thing I'll mention here is that in Taiwan you do not necessarily need (is that redundant?) a prescription to buy antibiotics in Taiwan. One can walk into a local pharmacy and ask for 250 mg. of erythromycin, for example, and walk out with it, no questions asked. You couldn't do that in Canada. This leads to the (perhaps ethical) question of whether an individual should "self medicate", but it can be convenient if you know for certain the antibiotic in question is the one that you need. Saves you one step in the process.

So, sick person beware, the medication game in Taiwan is different from what the westerner may be used to. Once you learn the system, though, you shouldn't run into too many problems.