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China Times 2007.05.01
By Lianyi Peng/Taipei Report
International management guru Michael Porter criticized yesterday that the average consultation time for a patient by Taiwanese doctors is only three minutes, which is astonishing. However, the reduction in reimbursement fees for doctors by Taiwan's National Health Insurance has forced doctors to see more patients to increase their income, which can be described as the "cancer" of this profession.
He also emphasized that the average per capita expenditure on healthcare in Taiwan is too low, which is insufficient compared to advanced countries like Sweden and the United States. This is detrimental to Taiwan's efforts to integrate healthcare services or adopt more effective preventive medicine practices.
Michael Porter, a professor at Harvard University who once served as a supervisor at TSMC, was invited to give a keynote speech titled "Redefining Healthcare: Implications for Taiwan" at TSMC's 20th-anniversary celebration yesterday.
He first praised Taiwan's National Health Insurance coverage rate of 99%, which is a remarkable achievement worldwide, but also reminded that future healthcare will inevitably move towards integration, requiring more resources. Porter stated that the world is very focused on improving healthcare costs, but he believes that "the best way to control costs is to create quality, not to reduce spending."
Porter, known for his competitiveness theory, has recently been very concerned about the competitiveness of the healthcare system. He believes that there is significant room for improvement in the efficiency of the current healthcare system. For example, in the United States, there are 139 hospitals that can perform heart transplant surgeries. Among them, the better-performing hospitals have a one-year survival rate close to 100%, while some hospitals have rates as low as almost zero. He thinks that only 20 hospitals should be retained for heart transplant surgeries, and hospitals should not all do the same things.
Regarding the universal healthcare system issues, including those in Taiwan, Porter stated that everyone follows a division of labor by specialty. A patient involving multiple departments is passed around among various doctors and departments, making the healthcare approach very "fragmented." This is unreasonable and should be patient-centered and integrated, much like how corporate organizations used to be divided by function but have now transformed into single-window services based on customer needs.
In the next five to ten years, Porter believes that the healthcare industry must undergo significant changes, providing integrated healthcare services to patients rather than having them constantly visit different hospitals. Hospitals must be able to provide large and stable services for single technologies to achieve economies of scale. Moreover, service provision must be cross-disciplinary. For example, a hospital in a certain city can provide specialized medical services for specific conditions, and this hospital can also establish branches in other cities to offer the same specialized services.
Michael Porter Criticizes: Taiwan Doctors Spend Only 3 Minutes Per Patient on Average
By Lianyi Peng/Taipei Report
International management guru Michael Porter criticized yesterday that the average consultation time for a patient by Taiwanese doctors is only three minutes, which is astonishing. However, the reduction in reimbursement fees for doctors by Taiwan's National Health Insurance has forced doctors to see more patients to increase their income, which can be described as the "cancer" of this profession.
He also emphasized that the average per capita expenditure on healthcare in Taiwan is too low, which is insufficient compared to advanced countries like Sweden and the United States. This is detrimental to Taiwan's efforts to integrate healthcare services or adopt more effective preventive medicine practices.
Michael Porter, a professor at Harvard University who once served as a supervisor at TSMC, was invited to give a keynote speech titled "Redefining Healthcare: Implications for Taiwan" at TSMC's 20th-anniversary celebration yesterday.
He first praised Taiwan's National Health Insurance coverage rate of 99%, which is a remarkable achievement worldwide, but also reminded that future healthcare will inevitably move towards integration, requiring more resources. Porter stated that the world is very focused on improving healthcare costs, but he believes that "the best way to control costs is to create quality, not to reduce spending."
Porter, known for his competitiveness theory, has recently been very concerned about the competitiveness of the healthcare system. He believes that there is significant room for improvement in the efficiency of the current healthcare system. For example, in the United States, there are 139 hospitals that can perform heart transplant surgeries. Among them, the better-performing hospitals have a one-year survival rate close to 100%, while some hospitals have rates as low as almost zero. He thinks that only 20 hospitals should be retained for heart transplant surgeries, and hospitals should not all do the same things.
Regarding the universal healthcare system issues, including those in Taiwan, Porter stated that everyone follows a division of labor by specialty. A patient involving multiple departments is passed around among various doctors and departments, making the healthcare approach very "fragmented." This is unreasonable and should be patient-centered and integrated, much like how corporate organizations used to be divided by function but have now transformed into single-window services based on customer needs.
In the next five to ten years, Porter believes that the healthcare industry must undergo significant changes, providing integrated healthcare services to patients rather than having them constantly visit different hospitals. Hospitals must be able to provide large and stable services for single technologies to achieve economies of scale. Moreover, service provision must be cross-disciplinary. For example, a hospital in a certain city can provide specialized medical services for specific conditions, and this hospital can also establish branches in other cities to offer the same specialized services.