Taiwan hospital Admits errors in Lancet Letter Criticizing Healthcare System
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Taichung — April 27, 2025 —
China Medical university Hospital in Taiwan admitted errors in a letter published in The Lancet that criticized the nation’s healthcare system.The letter, which contained inaccuracies about Taiwan’s healthcare system, prompted swift responses from hospital adn government officials. The hospital has requested a correction from The Lancet. For further insights, continue reading.
taiwan Hospital Admits Errors in Lancet Letter Criticizing Healthcare System
taichung,taiwan – china medical university hospital (cmuh) has acknowledged that a recent letter published in the lancet,penned by its own doctors,contained inaccurate information regarding taiwan’s healthcare system. the letter, which claimed the system was on the brink of systemic collapse,
has prompted swift action from the hospital and government officials.
key takeaways
- cmuh admits factual errors in lancet letter.
- incorrect covid-19 fatality rate cited.
- nurse staffing numbers misreported.
- hospital requests correction from the lancet.
- government defends healthcare system.
the erroneous claims
the taichung-based hospital issued a statement on saturday, april 27, confirming that the letter, authored by dr. li jing-xing and dr. hsu shu-bai, included several inaccuracies. cmuh stated that the doctors are deeply apologetic
for the errors and have formally requested a correction from the lancet.
incorrect fatality rate
according to cmuh, the letter incorrectly stated taiwan’s covid-19 hospitalization fatality rate as 58.2%. the hospital clarified that this figure was a misinterpretation of a 2025 study by chang gung memorial hospital,published in infection and drug resistance. the study actually found that 58.2% of critically ill covid-19 patients requiring intubation were infected with the omicron variant, not that 58.2% of all hospitalized patients had died.
misreported nurse staffing
the letter also erroneously reported that taiwan had 62 nurses per 10,000 people in 2021.cmuh corrected this, stating the actual number was 78 nurses per 10,000 people.
document mix-up
further compounding the errors, cmuh revealed that a supporting document intended to illustrate the healthcare system’s interconnectedness was mistakenly replaced with an incorrect file.
hospital’s response and government defense
cmuh acknowledged that the errors caused unnecessary confusion
among taiwan’s medical community. the hospital emphasized that the government has made addressing healthcare system strain a priority in the post-pandemic era, with the ministry of health and welfare (mohw) holding multiple meetings to coordinate response strategies.
the hospital further asserted that taiwan’s national health insurance system has long provided exceptionally high standards of treatment
and remains a model for other countries.
using incorrect statistics to attack taiwan’s health system was deeply unfair to medical workers.
chiu tai-yuan, taiwan’s minister of health and welfare
minister of health and welfare chiu tai-yuan also criticized the letter, stating that using incorrect statistics to attack taiwan’s health system was deeply unfair to medical workers.
faq: taiwan’s healthcare system
- is healthcare in taiwan universal?
- yes, nearly universal coverage is provided through the national health insurance (nhi) [[1]].
- how is taiwan’s healthcare system funded?
- primarily through payroll-based premiums, with government subsidies for low-income households [[3]].
- who provides healthcare services in taiwan?
- mostly contracted private providers [[3]].
