For overnight stays in a local hospital, patients are required to pay for in-patient care in cash.  Rooms come in various layouts, ranging from private rooms to shared rooms with two or more beds separated by partitions.  By contrast to in-patient services in the West, patients at local hospitals are generally required to bring private belongings with them.  This may extend to food, in cases where patients do not wish to eat the hospital's Chinese/Taiwanese cuisine.  

Outside of medical treatment provided by nurses, most daily patient needs are usually provided by relatives or friends, who may stay with the patient.  In cases where this is not possible, patients may hire a nurse at a hourly rate for such needs.  All medical services and items must be paid for as they are used.

A growing number of local hospitals now have international medical-care services/facilities, specially created to serve foreign patients and designed to meet their needs (see list of English-speaking hospitals). 

Doctors will usually visit a patient daily and issue a medical report in English at the patient's request.  Many doctors do speak English, although the same is not true of nursing staff.  Follow-up care may also be arranged directly with doctors, who usually have their own treatment rooms at hospitals.  On the day of the appointment, the patient's name will be on a list on the treatment room door.  Patients may enter the room and let the doctor know they have arrived before waiting to be called upon.