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Local medical group signs contract to push services in PRC

The Taiwan Nongovernmental Hospitals and Clinics Association (NHCA) signed a contract with a Chinese medical care management consultant yesterday to promote Taiwan’s medical services in China.

The contract with Guardian Healthcare Co, a subsidiary of the Beijing-based Harvest Medical Investment and Operation Group, was established to promote medical exchanges between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, said Wu Ming-yen (吳明彥), the chief executive of the NHCA’s Taiwan Task Force for Medical Travel.

Under the program, Guardian Healthcare will help publicize Taiwanese medical clinics and hospitals in China and refer Chinese patients to Taiwan for medical treatment, Wu said.

The association said Guardian Healthcare serves Chinese and China-based Taiwanese businesspeople with health care management and patient referral services.

The association has been contracted by Taiwan’s Department of Health to carry out its medical services globalization project, which is aimed at promoting Taiwan’s medical treatment services in the international market.

Taiwan is eager to develop medical tourism, much as Singapore and Thailand have done, by offering affordable medical care to people in developed countries and quality services to those in developing countries.

Wu said they would focus on China as the major source of clients for Taiwanese medical services. However, there are barriers blocking Chinese from coming to Taiwan for medical care, he said.

Taiwan opened the doors on Aug. 1, 2007, for Chinese to come to Taiwan for medical treatment, but would only allow those who needed live organ transplants, maxillofacial reconstruction, artificial insemination, joint replacement or cardiovascular invasive treatments.

Local hospital operators said China was expected to be the closest market for Taiwan’s medical treatment services after the two sides launched direct transport services. They said the government should lift restrictions on larger groups of Chinese coming to Taiwan for treatment.

Department of Health statistics show that the number of Chinese patients who applied to come to Taiwan for medical treatment has not exceeded 100 a year since the second half of 2006.
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