Health Exams

Comprehensive Health Examinations

Let’s face it: the modern world simply isn’t very kind to our bodies. Thankfully, the past fifty years have resulted in huge advances in the prevention of once-deadly diseases, in the treatment of injuries, in our ability to be informed about our health, and in how to be proactive in terms of improving our well-being. Unfortunately, despite these fantastic advances, we still face a great number of obstacles to a healthy, happy life. Some of the most common factors assaulting our health are also an unavoidable part of our everyday lives, such as:

• Stress
• Chronic injuries
• Diet
• Air pollution
• Heavy metals
• Plastics

The good news is that technology and medical advances allow us some insight into how much of a negative impact these factors may be having on our bodies. As a result, medical facilities in Taiwan have developed expertise that allows you to be proactive about your health. It is an inarguable fact that many debilitating diseases and medical conditions can be prevented. However, maximizing opportunities for prevention requires awareness – and awareness starts with a comprehensive health exam. Although facilities and equipment in Taiwan are on par with many of the best found in the United States or UK, most of these tests cost 80% less than they would outside of Taiwan. These tests often catch the early signs of preventable and treatable conditions, such as:

• Abnormal growths
• Unknown injuries
• Early stage cancer
• Heart disease
• Lung disease
• Organ disease
• Age-related illnesses

Health Exam Packages

The comprehensive medical examinations provided at Taiwanese medical centers have been designed to examine and evaluate every aspect of a patient’s health – including neurological, cardiovascular, renal, liver, ocular, and more – thus conducting a complete screening of the patient in order to identify any potential risks.

In general, a typical one-day exam in Taiwan will cover:

• General physical condition evaluation
• Metabolic analysis (energy disorders)
• Complete blood routine (various)
• Stool examination (digestive disorders)
• Urine examination (various)
• Body fat evaluation
• Autonervous system tests (stress disorders and strokes)
• X-rays (bone or joint problems)

Lifestyle and diet-related risk factors

• Liver and biliary function tests
• Renal function
• Gout Screen
• Blood sugar (test for diabetes)
• Lipids (heart disease, stroke, and brain disease)

Screening for infectious diseases (i.e. viral hepatitis, AIDS, Syphilis)

Cancer prevention:

• Tumor marker screening

General age-related risk factors:

• Thyroid function (energy and mood disorders)
• Rheumatoid arthritis (soreness and movement difficulties)
• Auditory and ophthalmologic examinations
• Bone density tests (injury prevention)
• Lung function (early stage cancer)
• Cardiac function (early stage heart disease)
• Sonography examination (tumors or abnormal growth)

From these baseline packages, individuals can add additional diagnostics and customize their health check exam in a nearly infinite number of ways. One of the primary advantages that Taiwan healthcare has over the rest of the world is that the use of advanced medical technology is included as part of all health screening programs. In many other countries, such tests and equipment are rare and often not available for use in preventive medical programs. Through the use of the latest medical technology, specialists in Taiwan are able to identify if a patient is at risk of disease or cancer, and identify any problems at the earliest stage possible. A full-body CT exam allows specialists to scan the condition of a patient’s liver, gall bladder, spleen, pancreas and kidneys, thereby identifying any tumors, cysts, stones and/or polyps.

The advantages of being able to use such high-level imaging equipment are obvious. For example, an exam with a 1.5T MRI allows specialists to conduct a comprehensive scanning of the patient’s head, neck, pelvis, spine and body lymph nodes (as well as ovaries and uterus for females, and prostate for males), documenting whether they are in a high risk group for cancer. An MRI neurovascular exam allows for the detailing of whether a patient is high risk group for stroke, hypertension, diabetes, or hyperlipidemia, and can report on the effects of smoking and obesity. Preventative medicine is about peace of mind, and a health check-up in Taiwan is a perfect way to protect your health.
Be sure to ask your travel or medical tourism provider about packages including the following:

• 1.5T MRI
• 64-slice and 128-slice CT and VCT scans
• PET scans
• DEXA bone density