Taiwan Today

Taiwan welcomed 305,045 medical tourists in 2015, up 76 percent from 2012, generating record sector output of NT$16 billion (US$491 million) for the 12-month period and representing a 65 percent increase for the three-year period, according to the latest statistics from the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Taiwan’s world-class physicians, nurses and treatment facilities are the major reason for this healthy state of affairs. A central plank in this process is the liver transplant team at the Kaohsiung branch of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in southern Taiwan. Led by Dr. Chen Chao-long, the team performed Asia’s first successful liver transplant in 1984, and set a world record in 1997 when it accomplished the first living donor transplant without blood transfusion. The CGMH team completed its 1,500th case earlier this month, and reported one- and five-year survival rates of 96 percent and 91 percent, respectively, among the best in the world. Equally impressive is the Heart Center of Taipei City-based Cheng Hsin General Hospital, where a team coordinated by Dr. Wei Jeng performed the world’s first case of artificial heart implementation followed by successful heart and kidney transplants in 1996. To date, the center has completed 454 successful transplants, and its five-year survival rate of 74 percent is one of the highest in the world. Craniofacial reconstruction is another area where Taiwan excels on the global stage, thanks to efforts by the Chang Gung Craniofacial Research Center in northern Taiwan’s Taoyuan City. Since its establishment in 1981, the facility has treated more than 30,000 patients with cleft lip and palate, boasting a success rate of 100 percent. Taiwan is also renowned for its leading-edge technology in aesthetic medicine, cardiovascular treatment, dental implants, health checks and joint replacements. These affordable services are proving increasingly popular with patients in overseas markets. These achievements are often featured in reports by international cable broadcasters like CNN, Discovery Channel and National Geographic Channel. This partly explains the increasing number of arrivals from abroad seeking medical services and treatment in recent years. Internationalized healthcare is one of five target activities selected by the government for intensive development in the country’s eight Free Economic Pilot Zones. Through measures such as establishing dedicated healthcare industry parks, introducing foreign investment and technologies, as well as implementing regulatory easing, related sector output is expected to top NT$26 billion this year. (JSM) Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw