According to MOHW statistics for 2023, Taiwan has 23,896 medical facilities comprising 476 hospitals and 23,420 clinics. The hospitals have 138,664 beds, equating to a bed density of 73.32 per 10,000 people.

In Taiwan, approximately 80 percent of nursing graduates obtain nursing licenses each year, with an annual turnover rate of around 10-12 percent. Over the years Taiwan has made significant strides in nursing reform, including: (1) inclusion of nurse-patient ratios in hospital evaluations since 2015; (2) an additional monthly bonus from the NHI to hospitals that achieve designated nurse-patient ratios; (3) publishing the nurse-patient ratios of all hospitals on a monthly basis since July 2016; (4) launching three major nursing investment fields since 2018, namely home nursing care, effective nursing care and smart nursing care; (5) establishing a reporting system for workplace conflicts in health facilities in 2018; (6) inclusion of nurse-patient ratio as part of establishment standards for hospitals in 2019; (7) Adding anesthesia as a specialty of nurse practitioners in 2020; and (8) raising the density of nurses from 6 per 1,000 people in 2012 to 8.3 per 1,000 people by 2024.

In addition, Taiwan’s health care system is mainly formed by hospitals. Given the inadequate nursing workforce for community health care, the government launched an action plan in 2017 to increase the number of facilities offering home care services  and to improve the nursing practice rate and universal health coverage through offering a flexible nursing personnel practice, which includes community-shared economic strategies, an accreditation system for home nursing care, guidance on the establishment of home care centers, transitional community education training, mobile nursing information support and subsidies for the establishment of home care centers. These strategies are intended to expand the reach of community-based nursing care systems. Currently, there are 735 home care stations throughout Taiwan, which is a 39 percent increase over the 530 stations in 2017. As the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift in health care modalities, the MOHW has promoted family practitioners and defined the scope for individual practice and a shared-care model with physicians, maximizing their capacities in providing primary health care. In 2021, Taiwan began to offer a government-subsidized Practitioner Master Degree program, cultivating advanced family nurse practitioners. After receiving their certificate, graduates are encouraged to enter services in remote islands, rural areas and Indigenous communities, raising local health care service capacities and reducing Health inequality.

Despite these efforts, Taiwan faces a continuous surge in demand for health care services due to the dual challenges of an aging population and shrinking workforce, as well as an increasing need for preventive, chronic and multidisease care, compounded by the impact of COVID-19. To address the pressing need for nursing workforce development and to align with the President’s Healthy Taiwan vision, Taiwan approved the Nursing Workforce Policy Preparation Plan (2025–2028) in July  2024. This blueprint, comprising 12 nursing investment strategies, is a collaborative effort among five central ministries and focuses on three strategic pillars: talent cultivation, workplace enhancement and salary improvement. With a four-year investment of NT$27.5 billion (approximately of US$ 920 million), the plan aims to establish a positive cycle of nursing workforce retention and to maximize the employment of licensed nurses, thus ensuring the resilience of Taiwan’s health care system and the well-being of its people.

Access to essential medications refers to the obligation of the nation to ensure that all citizens have access to quality-controlled and affordable medications. Since Taiwan has implemented the NHI for many years, as of December 2024, a total of 7,649 pharmacies nationwide are currently contracted under the system, and 23,435 drug licenses have been issued (March 2025). The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration has also unveiled an essential medicine list, which comprises 584 items that pharmaceutical firms are required to report to the government if they are unable to continue supplying the listed medicines. An evaluation and reporting system for drug shortages was also established to ensure public access to medications. Moreover, pharmacists in community are also requested to provide education services to patients to ensure safe medication use.