Taiwan’s
National Immigration Agency gave the local medical tourism industry a shot in
the arm Nov. 4 with the announcement that mainland Chinese will soon be able to
visit the island specifically for the purpose of having physical examinations,
elective or non-urgent surgery and cosmetic procedures.
This decision is a welcome departure from
existing NIA regulations requiring mainland Chinese to organize medical
treatment as part of group or individual travel itineraries. Reached in
consensus with ROC government agencies such as the Department of Health,
Mainland Affairs Council and Ministry of Justice, the new policy is expected to
be approved by the Cabinet before the end of the year.
Under the revised regulations, one important
change is that the island’s hospitals and clinics will now accept applications
for Taiwan entry permits on behalf of mainland Chinese patients. These will be
given top priority for processing by the NIA with life-threatening cases put on
a four-hour fast track, even during weekends and public holidays.
Leveling the playing field for Taiwan’s
medical industry makes sense given the impressive numbers involved. Last year,
an estimated 617 million tourists worldwide participated in a US$513 billion
industry, making it one of the global economy’s stellar performers.
Although Taiwan’s health care providers rolled
out the welcome mat for only 85,000 of these tourists, this was considered
something of a success given the government did not begin making significant
headway in growing the industry until ROC President Ma Ying-jeou took office in
May 2008.
Under Ma’s watch, internationalized health
care became one of 10 emerging service industries selected for intensive
development. The Cabinet’s four-year, NT$86.4 billion (US$2.69 billion) Health
Care Value-added Platinum Program played an integral role, strengthening
cross-border medical services through branding promotion and building
inter-industry alliances aimed at attracting tourists. The plan is expected to
boost health care industry output by NT$346.4 billion and add 310,000 jobs
before the end of 2012.
The government is also establishing special
international medical zones, seeking to raise NT$4 billion in private
investment for the planned aerotropolis project near Taiwan Taoyuan
International Airport. An estimated 40,000 tourists are expected to visit the
zone per year, generating revenues of US$350 million—a close to five-fold
increase on the current figure.
With four of these zones in the pipeline,
Taiwan has committed to going head to head with regional competitors. The
government is banking on these facilities, along with the island’s world-class
physicians, state-of-the-art health service technologies and low treatment
costs, to muscle in on the action.
For Taiwan’s health care providers, mainland
Chinese represent a surefire way to bolster the number of tourists seeking
treatment on the island. So far this year, more than 1,000 people from the
other side of the Taiwan Strait have visited for medical purposes, with this
number expected to hit 15,000 in 2012.
Many of the island’s hospitals such as
Taipei’s Cathay General and Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial were instrumental in
laying the foundations for the development of this market. The tour packages
they put together, which combined sightseeing and treatment, left participants
more than impressed by Taiwan and the standard of its medical facilities and
workers.
The NIA’s new approach to handling mainland
Chinese medical tourists could not come at a better time. The anticipated
influx of patients from the West has not eventuated mainly due to the onset of
a new financial crisis, and although sky-high treatment costs and aging
populations in Europe and the U.S. bode well for the long-term outlook of
Taiwan’s medical services firms, cash-strapped patients remain in two minds or
are simply unaware of what the island has to offer.
Another reason for this stay-away trend is
that overseas insurers have not yet accepted the scale of cost savings on offer
by having cosmetic surgery, joint replacements and cardiac interventions
performed in the Asia-Pacific region. Issues relating to liability, service
standards and language are holding the market back for now, and despite the
best efforts of major players, including India, Malaysia, Singapore, South
Korea and Thailand, there is little sign of a breakthrough being made anytime
soon.
But if Taiwan can build its reputation as the
medical tourism destination of choice for mainland Chinese, it will not be long
before the West is forced to recognize the island’s merits. More organizations
will surely follow in the footsteps of Patients Without Borders, a U.S.-based
medical facilitator listing several of Taiwan’s hospitals as providing
outstanding value and quality for American patients.
The NIA’s new policy will bring more mainland
Chinese to Taiwan as medical tourists, ensuring the island is well and truly in
the driver’s seat when it comes to carving out a sizeable slice of this
lucrative market. The government’s pragmatic approach to cross-strait relations
has been the catalyst for this development, playing a valuable role in readying
Taiwan to become a major player in what should prove to be one of the biggest
growth industries of the 21st century: medical tourism.
Ed Zacapa
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.
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