Taiwan transforms into mecca for medical tourism

2016/04/29

Taiwan’s world-class physicians, nurses and treatment facilities are transforming the country into a mecca for medical tourism and significantly boosting national economic development.

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.

Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics show Taiwan welcomed 305,045 such patients in 2015, up 76 percent from 2012. Related sector output totaled NT$16 billion (US$491 million), an increase of 65 percent during the period.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=244192&ctNode=2194&mp=9)