I’d always wanted to get a comprehensive checkup in Taiwan and I got a chance to do so this time around. I figure it’s like a car’s 100k tuneup. Perfect when ones having a midlife crisis.
Per my previous post on health checkups, I decided to go with Beitou Health Clinic because Baba was going to get a checkup as well, and he speaks only English. That and the fact that I really really wanted to talk to a nutritionist, and this was the only one that offered it in my non exhaustive and lazy research. (A quick look just now at Cathay’s offerings show they have it too)
Should you get your medical checkup here? I think if you’re willing to pay a bit more premium for English speaking nurse, plus a quieter more luxurious experience, then go ahead and splurge. Otherwise you can probably get the same type of treatment elsewhere for slightly lower price.
Also, don’t ever get the basic checkup here. They flat out told me that they only offer it because other places do as well, or people want it when they accompany others doing higher packages for convenience.
Walk through of procedure
- Figure out what checkups you want after checking which packages are available
- Call them up to schedule a date for checkup
- Checkup itself
- Talk to doc
What Checkups to Get
Here’s a screen shot of the English and Chinese packages they have .
I got the most basic one. (Notice how the most basic ones differ by price between English and Chinese version!) I think it’s enough for a supposedly healthy person like me.
By enough I mean, it had blood works, bone density and fat %, and LDCT plus 2 additional blood work ($10 USD a each) for family history related stuff. For Baba I picked something slightly more as befitting his medical situation.
One is a blood draw which calculates Insulin AC. Typically blood draws only show AC Sugar and HbA1C. But this one apparently can show you if you’re pre diabetic. As in! Maybe you don’t show symptoms yet but your lifestyle will lead you to diabetes at this rate kind of thing. If you have family history I think for the price it’s worth getting.
Other than that, it’s just how detailed do you want to be and specific body parts you want to check. There’s no right answer, just what has been ailing you. I think in terms of level of checks, you have your basic blood draws, then ultrasounds, then CT, PET, and finally MRI, with price points to match. And for healthy people, you don’t need to do MRI unless you want your 200k tune up just in case.
Scheduling an Appt
Scheduling an appt is not hard, unless you don’t know what to say in Chinese! Just remember a health check is called 健檢 and out of pocket is 自費. Tell them the specific package you want and they’ll schedule a time.
I even did it by Line.
For those getting a colonoscopy, you should just do endoscopy as well since most people are under general anesthesia here for those two and may as well only do anesthesia once.
Normally, you will be shipped instructions by mail, plus any medications to prep for colonoscopy. There’s usually also an urine and stool sample that you mail back or bring back with you. Yeah, Taiwan health care has a lot of self service aspects.
Checkup itself
The healthcare center is a 3 minute walk from the New Beitou MRT line. It’s actually IN a hot springs hotel. And you can choose to just stay overnight there if you like. It’s a good choice for people who may want a ready bidet for their colonoscopy plus a vacation health check up vibe. All part of the Chinese idea of 養生, healthy living?
Or maybe, afterward, stay there for an extra night or two, eat delicious healthy meals, and visit the Beitou hot springs.
Anyways, for the health checkup, it’s the ultimate service. They assign one person who will walk you from station to station. So after blood draw, you may have ultrasounds, or CTs, or colonoscopy, and this person accompanies you.
Most checkups take up to 2-4 hours. I checked in by 8 and was done by 11 and ate a nice simple lunch provided by the clinic. This includes the consultation with doctor plus nutritionist. The nutritionist doesn’t speak a lot of English but the doctor. Baba’s took a bit longer but he was also done after lunch.
There’s a nutritionist and healthy lunch provided as well.
What was neat for me was the X-ray scanner that scans for bone density and fat percentage. I didn’t know you can X-ray fat percentage!
I was definitely able to ask all the questions I wanted as leisure without feeling rushed. That for me was worth the price.
You’re sent home with a DVD of all the images taken. The reports arrives either by PDF or snail mail. You can choose to have it in either English or Chinese.
All in all, if I were lazy I’d do it here again. I liked the quiet atmosphere a lot. It suits my introverted personality. If I were feeling a bit cheaper, I may look at other places next time.
There’s a spam musubi place right next to the hotel. If you have a healthy checkup, drop by after and splurge on some decidedly unhealthy spam musubi!
