nhi.gov.tw : National Health Insurance Card Taiwan

Organization : National Health Insurance Administration
Type of Facility : National Health Insurance Card
Country: Taiwan

Website : http://www.nhi.gov.tw/English/webdata/webdata.aspx?menu=11&menu_id=594&webdata_id=3194&WD_ID=594

National Health Insurance Card :

The National Health Insurance Administration adopted the use of an IC card for all individuals enrolled in the program beginning on January 1, 2004.

Related : National Health Insurance Enrollment Taiwan : www.statusin.org/7472.html

The card generally carries a picture of the insured, making it unnecessary to bring your ID to the medical institution as personal verification when seeking medication attention. . The chip embedded in the card stores your records of last 6 medical visits, information of catastrophic illness, records of all important examination, and medication information, which will be helpful when you see a doctor.

Does the National Health Insurance Card Have Expiration?:
The National Health Insurance card (NHI card) can continue to be used even if the cardholder changes employers. But the card does need to be updated (usually automatically done by a health care provider) periodically under the following circumstances

Allotted Visits Are Used Up:
Every time the information on the NHI card is updated, the card can be used for six more doctor visits, but for patients who need more frequent checkups, the number of allotted visits can be increased to 18 for children under 6 and 12 for individuals 70 and over. Whenever the NHI card is used to get care, one visit is automatically deducted from the card’s allotment. When the NHI card’s allotted visits run out, it must be updated for patients to be able to continue receiving care.

NHI Card Is about to Expire:
The NHI card is valid for one year and must be updated annually before it expires. To help the insured remember the expiry date, NHIA has designated each cardholder’s birthday as his or her card’s final day of validity. Cardholders must update their cards within 30 days before their birthday at a location where card readers are installed or at health care institutions while getting a checkup.

Personal Information Needs to be Changed:
If your personal status changes to that of a member of a low-income household or unemployed veteran, you must update your NHI card at any location where a card reader is available, such as the National Health Insurance Administration regional divisions or health care institutions, if you want to be exempt from copayments.

Places Where NHI Card Can Be Updated:
If you have used up the allotted number of visits, clinics or hospitals will use their health insurance card readers to automatically update your card (as long as your premium payments are up to date). You can also update your card on your own using NHI card readers stationed at National Insurance Administration regional divisions, or local township administrative offices.

NHI Card Functions:

Prescription and examination Records:
The NHI card stores records of medication usage and past examinations for doctors to use as a reference when they treat a patient so that they don’t duplicate prescriptions or examinations. This helps safeguard patient safety, improve health care quality and reduce medical waste.

Treatment Records:
The NHI card serves as the authoritative record of treatment under the National Health Insurance program, recording all doctor visits. When a patient receives health care, an allotted visit is normally deducted from the card, but if the attending physician enters on the card “clinic referral,” “post surgery outpatient follow-up visit,” or “hospitalization clinic follow-up visit,” the subsequent visit is not deducted from the card total.

Catastrophic Illness Record:
Records of a patient’s catastrophic illness are directly entered into the NHI card, enabling patients with such illnesses who present their NHI card when getting care for the designated disease to be treated without having to pay a copayment.
Individuals covered by the National Health Insurance Program who have applied for and received catastrophic illness certification can ask clinics or hospitals to update their NHI cards if the cards do not include the catastrophic illness information. Cards can also be updated to include the catastrophic illness designation at any location where a card reader is available, such as any National Health Insurance Administration regional divisions or village, town, city or area administrative office.
Organ Donation or Palliative Care Registration Information Individuals who are willing to donate organs can register with the ROC Organ Procurement Association or Taiwan Organ Registry and Sharing Center, and those who are willing to accept hospice care can register with the Taiwan Hospice Organization. Those organizations transfer the information to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which then sends it to the National Health Insurance Administration’s database. That information can then be entered into the NHI card when the card is updated, helping medical workers know immediately should the situation arise if patients are willing to donate their organs or agree to palliative care.

NHI Card Auditing Mechanism:
If individuals are not enrolled in the health insurance program or have overdue premiums, any health care they receive will not be covered by the National Health Insurance Program. Under these circumstances, once the six allotted visits on an NHI card have been used, it cannot be updated until you re-register in the program or pay any overdue premiums.

National Health Insurance Card Maintenance:
If the information shown on the NHI card or its embedded chip is damaged, the NHI card cannot be read by the card reader. Therefore, cardholders are asked to pay attention to the following:
Do not bend the card or scratch the chip.
Do not use alcohol or a cleaning agent to clean the chip, or expose the card to a highly acidic, alkaline or other corrosive environment.
Avoid directly exposing the chip to a power source, fire source, bright sunshine or high temperatures. Do not store the card near items with a magnetic field such as a television set or computer.