Taiwan is well-positioned to compete with other Asian countries in promoting medical services to foreigners, especially overseas Chinese, because of the country's advanced medical technology and highly qualified physicians, a Department of Health (DOH) official said yesterday.
“Although Taiwan got a late start in the field compared with other Asian countries such as Singapore, Thailand and India, it still has enormous potential given that we have first-class doctors and medical expenses are much cheaper than they are in Western countries,” said Hwang Kung-chang (黃焜璋), specialist general and executive director of the DOH's Hospital Administration Commission.
Hwang spoke of Taiwan's medical potential after the signing of a letter of intent to develop medical referral services between an insurance firm based in California and nine private hospitals in Taiwan.
The partnership will allow Central Health Plan of California — the third-largest medical service management company in southern California — to represent Taiwanese hospitals in the US and refer its clients, or the clients of other US health insurers, to the health care institutions to receive care in Taiwan.
Hwang said the DOH began working with the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) three years ago to help promote local hospitals in foreign countries.
Its goal was to bring together the hospitals and foreign insurance companies and supervise the quality of the medical services provided under the arrangement.
Hwang said Taiwan might be at a disadvantage compared with Singapore and India because of the language barrier, but it was still competitive given comparable high-quality care, but lower costs than its Western rivals.
The cost of cardiac catheterization and stent operations in Taiwan, for instance, is only a quarter of similar procedures in the US, which can be a good incentive for patients and insurance companies in the US, Hwang said.
Overseas Chinese are the main target clients for Taiwanese hospitals because of the shared language, culture and customs, he said.
TAITRA president and CEO Chao Yuen-chuan (趙永全) said signing the MOI was significant because it could clear the biggest barrier for local hospitals to gain a foothold in the US medical service market.
Chao said the US medical service market, which is estimated to reach US$2.5 trillion this year, would grow to US$4.3 trillion by 2018, when it is projected to constitute 20 percent of US GDP.
TAITRA predicted that the medical tourism market in Asia would reach US$4 billion by 2012, attracting 1.3 million people to countries like Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, India, South Korea and Malaysia.
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