It's laughably absurd that the US doesn't have national health care. This is one of the main reasons I don't live in America, and I have often said that I will not go back to states to live unless there is a national health care system.
Taiwan has a national health care system, and it...well it works. There is a huge problem of people going to see a doctor for every minor thing. I think the average Taiwanese person goes to see a doctor more in a month than I have my entire life.
I always ask my friends what the point is of going to see the doctor when you are sick as all he will say is "drink plenty of liquids and get a lot of rest." The response is always the same "yes but the doctor will give you medicine." And here is the rub, Taiwan's over reliance on medicine.
If you have a cold, I think most of us will just go the pharmacy and get one pill. Here in Taiwan, you go to the doctor and he will give you seven different types of medicines to take. The main way that doctors exploit the government's footing of the bill, is that they prescribe tons of medicines.
I'm guessing you are asking how this helps the doctors, because it seems like the pharmacies would be the ones making out like bandits. Well believe it or not, pharmacies in Taiwan are not allowed to sell prescription medicine. You can only get prescription medicine at hospitals or clinics.
So obviously there is an easy fix to this whole situation, but since it's so easy and obvious, it will never be done.
As for the picture. Well near my house is a rather new hospital. A large number of friends will actually go to this hospital even though it's a bit out of the way. So when friends go there, I will usually walk over to keep them company. It's a good way to catch up with friends I don't usually see, and also a nice way to pay back all the kind friends I have had over the years who helped me when I had to go see a doctor.
But yes the picture is of urine on the ground. This hospital is new, but it seems like every waiting room has yellow spots on the ground. I used to always think that there is no way this could be urine, as they are everywhere, even in departments that would have nothing to do with urine, like the elbow department. But today I saw this puddle of urine on the ground and I was exposed to the truth.
I'm sure this will bring vindication to all those friends who yell at me for putting my bag on the ground and say I should put it on the seat. To those of you who say this, I direct you to how there is also urine on the seat.
