Taipei, March 20 (CNA) The Tri-Service General Hospital in Taipei City announced a new measure on Monday allowing patients to pay their bills with EasyCard, one of the most popular stored value cards in Taiwan.

Lin Ko-feng (林克峯), director of the hospital's Medical Service Section, said the new policy will make the hospital more patient-friendly and avoid the potential spread of bacteria and diseases when payments are made in cash and handled by hospital personnel.

Several hospitals operated by Taipei City and New Taipei City governments already accept payment using EasyCard.

Lin said the hospital charges its patients about NT$450 (US$14.7) per clinical visit, which should be a reasonable amount for EasyCard payments.

The hospital receives about 6,000 to 7,000 patients a day, Lin said, adding that EasyCard payment, which takes three seconds to process, is a win-win solution for both sides.

Tri-Service General Hospital also indicated that in the future patients will be allowed to pay all bills with a credit card, a service previously only available for expensive examinations not covered by health insurance.

In addition, Taipei Veterans General Hospital also announced on Monday that it would start allowing patients to pay for all services using credit cards.

EasyCards are accepted on the Taipei and Kaohsiung metro systems, the Taoyuan airport MRT line and Taiwan Railway Administration trains, as well as at convenience stores, supermarkets and many public car parks.

(By Chen Wei-ting and Lee Hsin-Yin)
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