《The Manila Times》When tech meets health care

(Source: The Manila Times)

When tech meets health care

TAIPEI: For the past years, Taiwan has been at the forefront of the booming medical tourism in Asia. Patients worldwide have taken notice and have come to Taiwan to take advantage of Taiwan’s top-notch doctors, competitive rates, excellent customer service and world-class treatment facilities.

Although relatively small, with a population of 23 million, Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) oversees almost 28,000 contracted medical care institutions, including 26 academic medical centers, 83 metropolitan medical centers, and 370 local community hospitals. This is in addition to over 6,000 dental clinics and over 3,000 Chinese medicine clinics.

“More than 305,600 foreign patients came to Taiwan to receive medical services in 2017, with one-third of those coming from South East Asian countries,” reported Walter Yeh, president and CEO of Taiwan External Trade Development Council (Taitra), during the media welcome dinner recently in Taipei, Taiwan. Taitra is Taiwan’s foremost nonprofit trade promoting organization sponsored by the government and industry organizations.

Yeh also added that Taiwan is equipped with advanced technology and high-quality medical services with affordable and competitively priced medical services.

“In 2018, 14 medical institutions in Taiwan were accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), a medical evaluation with the highest credibility, recognized globally by medical professionals,” Yeh said.

2018 Taiwan Healthcare Expo

Some of these medical institutions were showcased in the recent 2018 Taiwan Healthcare Expo organized by the Research Center for Biotechnology and Medicine Policy and the MOHW held at Taipei Nangang Exhibition Centre on November 29 to December 2.

World-class medical institutes, advanced medical technologies, leading IT, ICT, electronics and tech giants and comprehensive digital healthcare supply chain converged in this expo also attended by world leaders in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical devises and health management.

This year’s expo featured over 1,300 booths from 51 countries as welcomed by Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-Wen who pointed out, “Taiwan’s Medical Device Industry is a leader in Asia. We are the number one exporter of electric wheel chairs in the world, and the second largest exporter of artificial joints in Asia. We hope that this event will generate opportunities to tap into international cooperation networks and create endless possibilities for Taiwan’s next-generation healthcare technology industries.”

Tsai also added that Taiwan offers three major advantages as a hub for medical R&D. First, Taiwan has top-notch healthcare institutions that have set new global treatment standards while serving as training centers for professionals from around the world. Second, these facilities are complemented by local expertise in crucial information and communication technology fields such as integrated circuits and lastly, Taiwan’s advanced design and production capabilities in medical devices and pharmaceuticals.

Taiwan International Medical Pavilion

One of the highlights of the expo is the Taiwan International Medical Pavilion of the MOHW that showcases the highly specialized surgical field of reconstructive microsurgery.

According to Fu-Chuan Wei of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taiwan shares medical technology with international physicians through training courses for specialty projects like the Craniofacial Center of Linkou Chang gung Memorial Hospital. Every year, an average of 40 foreign physicians from all over the world come to the Craniofacial Center for training. As of 2018, 828 physicians have been trained in the Craniofacial Center of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. Besides, more than 100 physicians from 26 countries have come to China Medical University Hospital training for integrated reconstructive microsurgery, a highly specialized subspecialty that utilizes autologous or allo tissue to restore human dignity after cancer, trauma and congenital deformities.

During the expo, the author interviewed two Filipino doctors who are undergoing training in Taiwan. Dr. Kaitlin Ann Lim from the Southern Philippine Medical Center is now training at Chiayi Chang Memorial Hospital about reconstructive microsurgery while Dr. Dax Carlo Paseasio of the Philippine General Hospital is undergoing training at the Taoyuan Chang Gung Hospital about craniofacial surgery and obstructive sleep apnea surgery.

Lim and Peseasio are very thankful with the world-class training they are now experiencing in Taiwan. According to Lim, “I’m very grateful with Dr. Chih Hung Lin, my trainer for sharing with us knowledge and hands-on training about microsurgery which I promised to share to my fellow doctors back in the Philippines.”

Meanwhile, the Show Chwan Health Care System in the “Medical Centers” of the pavilion showcased the “Future Operating Room Industry Chain” and presented the development of medical technology in recent years, highlighting the strength of Taiwan’s medical care.

Renaissance robotic spine surgery

Besides the expo, international media delegates visited Taiwan’s leading hospitals. This author visited the Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital and the Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital.

Among the top-notch specialization of Kaohsiung Medical University Chung-Ho Memorial Hospital (KMUH) is the Renaissance robotic spine surgery where Mazor Robotics Renaissance Guidance System is being used.

KMUH pioneers in introducing Renaissance System in Taiwan. Its outstanding performance has earned a Mazor Robotics certified Asian Spinal Surgery Training Center since 2013.

Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital is the only public medical center in the Kaohsiung and Pingtung areas in Taiwan and its popularly known as the medical disaster response command center for the Kaohsiung-Pintung communities.

It is known for its Trauma Center, Cardiovascular Center, Cancer Center, the Center for Reproductive Medicine, Dental Implant Center, Health Screening Center, Cosmetic Surgery Center and more medical services.

Its international medical team also provides international patients with single window service, providing integrated medical resources as well as various types of medical tests.

World class medical hub

It is recognized that Taiwan is the home to many leading electronics contract manufacturers including Hon Hai Precision Industry, Pegatron, Quanta Computer, Compal Electronics and Wistron, all notable Apple suppliers. The island also boasts of the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the sole supplier of iPhone core processor chips.

Now, with its booming medical travel accomplishments and its recognized expertise, Taiwan is indeed not far from being one of the best medical hubs in the world.