Taiwan Adventist Hospital: What Foreign Patients Should Know
Taiwan Adventist Hospital opened in Taipei on 28 March 1955 and states English and Japanese are spoken in the hospital. Visitors cannot use National Health Insurance and pay as self-payers.
Taiwan Adventist Hospital opened in Taipei on 28 March 1955 and is the only Seventh-day Adventist hospital in Taiwan. It runs two separate international units, and it states that English and Japanese are spoken in the hospital. That is why it keeps coming up as the answer to "where do I go if I do not speak Chinese."
Through New Dawn Health you can book four specific priced appointments there. There is no screening package at Taiwan Adventist Hospital in our catalogue, and this article does not pretend otherwise. Everything else below comes from the hospital's own published pages, the Adventist church's own encyclopedia, Taiwan's Medical Care Act, and the National Health Insurance Administration.
What is Taiwan Adventist Hospital?
It is a hospital "operated by the Northern Asia-Pacific Division of the Seventh-day Adventist Church" and "the only Adventist hospital in the territory of the Taiwan Conference".
The Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists, an official publication of the Seventh-day Adventist World Church, records the institution's line of descent. The hospital traces back to the Adventist hospital in Shanghai founded by Harry W. Miller.
| Year | What the encyclopedia records |
|---|---|
| 1949 | After the new government was established in mainland China, the Shanghai hospital relocated to Taipei |
| 28 March 1955 | Opened as the Taiwan Sanitarium-Hospital, with Madame Chiang Kai-shek cutting the ribbon |
| 1971 | Renamed Taiwan Adventist Hospital |
The hospital's own account matches. It describes itself as "one of over 170 healthcare institutions operated by the Seventh-Day Adventist Church in a worldwide missionary system", founded by Dr. Harry W. Miller, who came from the United States.
The Chinese name is 臺安醫院. The hospital gives its address as No. 424, Sec. 2, Bade Rd., Songshan District, Taipei City 10556.
Is it a hospital in the legal sense, and does that matter?
Yes, and it does.
Taiwan's Medical Care Act draws the line at inpatient beds. Article 12 sorts institutions into two kinds.
| Institution | What Article 12 says |
|---|---|
| Hospital | Has "wards for the inpatient care of patients" |
| Clinic | Has "only out-patient facilities"; may set up no more than nine observation beds |
Taiwan Adventist Hospital lists an emergency medicine department, a dialysis center, a cardiac catheterization unit, and inpatient accommodation. It operates as a hospital, which means a finding at an appointment can move into treatment inside the same institution. That is the practical difference from a standalone clinic.
Under the same Act, accreditation of hospitals is conducted by the central competent authority. In practice the program has been run since 1999 by the Joint Commission of Taiwan, and accreditation is valid for four years.
Taiwan Adventist Hospital separately states on its own site that it is a four-time Joint Commission International accredited hospital and a MAGNET recognized organization. That is the hospital's own claim, published by the hospital. We did not verify it against the accrediting bodies' registers, and you should ask to see the current certificates if it matters to your decision.
What departments does the hospital have?
The hospital publishes its department list in English.
- Cardiovascular examination
- Dentistry
- Endocrinology and metabolism
- Internal medicine
- Neurology
- Nursing
- Obstetrics and gynecology
- Ophthalmology
- Orthopedics
- Otolaryngology
- Pediatrics
- Colon and rectal surgery
- Psychiatry
- Rehabilitation
- Rheumatology and immunology
- General surgery
- Emergency medicine
- Infectious disease
Alongside those it lists examination and treatment units.
- Audiology and speech pathology unit
- Cardiac catheterization unit
- Dialysis center
- Neurophysiology
- Physical examination center
- Rehabilitation center
Feature services are listed separately again.
- Breast center
- Child development and rehabilitation center
- Reproductive medicine and infertility center
- Joint replacement
- Thyroid radiofrequency ablation
The hospital's own Physical Examination Center is on the first floor and publishes service hours of Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 11:00 and 13:30 to 16:00. It also offers immigration medical examinations for Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.
Does it really serve patients who do not speak Chinese?
The hospital runs two international units, which is unusual and often confused.
| Unit | Languages, as the hospital states them | Published office hours |
|---|---|---|
| International Healthcare Center | English and Japanese are spoken in the hospital | Not stated |
| International Priority Care Center | Chinese, English and Japanese | 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday; 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Sunday |
The International Healthcare Center is the one that states the language position plainly: "No language barrier – English and Japanese are spoken in the Hospital." It also states that the hospital serves over 10,000 international patients annually, and that it has the largest number of Japanese patients daily among hospitals in the Taipei region.
The International Priority Care Center is a separate unit. The hospital says it opened in 1989 with the goals of efficiency and availability of multi-lingual services.
One line on that page is the most actionable sentence on the whole site: "Please make your appointment at least one day ahead." Walking in is not the plan.
Can a visitor use Taiwan's National Health Insurance?
No. The National Health Insurance Administration sets a residency test that a traveler cannot meet.
Foreign nationals holding a valid Alien Resident Certificate must register for National Health Insurance after living in Taiwan for six months, defined as six months of continuous residence or with one trip abroad not exceeding 30 days.
There is one shortcut, and it is not available to visitors either. People who hold work permits with an ARC are enrolled by their employer starting the day they are employed.
The hospital states the consequence directly for its own priority care unit: "The National Health Insurance of Taiwan (NHI) is not applicable in IPCC." If you are visiting Taiwan, you are a self-paying patient. Our complete guide to seeing a doctor in Taiwan walks through the mechanics of registration and payment across the system generally.
How does a self-paying foreign patient actually pay?
Four provisions of the Medical Care Act govern what you should see at the counter, which is the reassuring part.
- Article 21: "Standards for medical fees charged by the medical care institution shall be determined by the municipal or county(city) competent authority." A hospital does not set its price list in a vacuum.
- Article 20: the institution must display its practice license, clinic hours and other clinic items in a conspicuous place.
- Article 22: "Receipts shall be made by medical care institutions for medical fees charged, which shall clearly state the item(s) and fee(s)." An itemized receipt is your legal entitlement, not a favor.
- Article 71: the institution shall provide a copy of the patient's medical records, or a Chinese summary of them, on the patient's request. Ask before you fly home, not after.
Taiwan Adventist Hospital publishes its accepted payment methods for the priority care center.
- Credit card, specifically Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
- Cash, in New Taiwan Dollars only.
- Direct billing to insurance companies.
The hospital states that it has joined the provider network with over 40 international insurance companies for direct billing of eligible insured patients. If you carry international coverage, that is the question to ask before your appointment rather than after it.
How do you get there?
The hospital is in Songshan District on Bade Road Section 2. The Taipei Metro operates five numbered lines plus the Circular Line. The hospital's own directions page lists four stations and its own walking estimates.
| Station | Line | Walk, as the hospital states it |
|---|---|---|
| Nanjing Fuxing | Wenhu Line | About 15 minutes |
| Taipei Arena | Songshan-Xindian Line | About 15 minutes |
| Zhongxiao Fuxing | Wenhu Line and Bannan Line | About 15 minutes |
| Zhongxiao Dunhua | Bannan Line | About 20 minutes |
Four interchange-adjacent stations within a twenty minute walk is unusually good access for a Taipei hospital. If you are weighing which tier of facility to use for a given problem, our guide to Taiwan's four hospital tiers explains how the system is meant to be entered.
What can you book there through New Dawn Health?
Four priced items, all of them appointments rather than packages.
| Appointment | Price | Listed duration |
|---|---|---|
| OB Gyn appointment | $495 | 30 minutes |
| Cardiologist appointment | $380 | 30 minutes |
| Clinical dermatologist appointment | $150 | 30 minutes |
| Full body skin exam | $145 | 1 hour |
No core screening tier is available at Taiwan Adventist Hospital through us. Those tiers sit at other Taipei facilities.
Two of those items carry an imaging component in our record. The OB Gyn appointment includes an ovaries and uterus ultrasound, and the cardiologist appointment includes a heart ultrasound.
The full body skin exam is a dermoscopy examination, performed with a dermatoscope, which is a magnifying instrument with a light that lets the physician see below the surface of the skin.
Prices for every bookable item are on our packages page. If a gynecology appointment is what you are after, our guide on seeing a gynecologist in Taiwan covers the wider system.
How far ahead should you book?
The hospital's own floor is one day for its priority care center. In practice, plan on more.
Most bookings need a few weeks of notice, some need longer, and some can be arranged quickly. Confirm the appointment before you book the flight. If your dates are tight, ask, because arrangements are made case by case. The live booking calendar always shows the true earliest date available.
The bottom line
Taiwan Adventist Hospital is a real answer to the language question rather than an internet rumor, and the hospital publishes the claim itself. It is a general hospital with an emergency department and inpatient wards, not a screening center, so treat it as somewhere to see a named specialist.
You will be a self-paying patient, because National Health Insurance requires residency you will not have as a visitor. Ask for the itemized receipt and a copy of your records before you leave Taiwan, since the Medical Care Act entitles you to both.
Sources
- Encyclopedia of Seventh-day Adventists — Taiwan Adventist Hospital (accessed 2026-09-09)
- Taiwan Adventist Hospital — About, Milestones and Departments (accessed 2026-09-09)
- Taiwan Adventist Hospital — International Healthcare Center (accessed 2026-09-09)
- Taiwan Adventist Hospital — International Priority Care Center (accessed 2026-09-09)
- Taiwan Adventist Hospital — Physical Examination Center (accessed 2026-09-09)
- Taiwan Adventist Hospital — Map and Directions (accessed 2026-09-09)
- National Health Insurance Administration, Taiwan — Foreign Nationals Who Reside in Taiwan with an Alien Resident Certificate (accessed 2026-09-09)
- Laws and Regulations Database of the Republic of China (Taiwan) — Medical Care Act, Articles 12, 20, 21, 22, 28 and 71 (accessed 2026-09-09)
- Joint Commission of Taiwan — Hospital Accreditation and Certification (accessed 2026-09-09)
- Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation — Network and Systems (accessed 2026-09-09)