550 WORDS.

"Come to Taiwan
- For Holiday and Medical Treatment"
We walk through the crowded foyer of the Tri-Service Hospital in Neihu, Taipei. Like most Asian hospitals, it has wide open spaces, hundreds of people that seemingly live there, large queues at medicine windows, and mountains of paperwork on dozens of tables. To a Westerner, the atmosphere is a little suffocating. For example, most Western hospitals encourage relatives to go home, dispense very few take-home medicines, and have substantially computerized paperwork.

But ask a Westerner who has received medical treatment in Taiwan, and comments are usually very positive. Despite cultural differences in administration, once patients enter sterile zones, - operating theatres, equipment and procedures are as modern and organized as their Western counterparts. This is the message that Dr Chung-Liang Shih, Director-General of the Taiwan Health Department, is trying to spread, by media, at overseas exhibitions, and by seeking agreements with overseas health insurance bodies. Says Shih -

"For us this is an obvious and sensible industry to pursue; Taiwan is more medically advanced than almost all other Asian nations, with integrated public health cover since the year 2000. Today, we are training visiting Doctors from Korea and Thailand, who then return home and work for major hospitals… We provide Doctor training and patient treatments at a rate that is often much more economical than any other developed country … For example, a knee replacement that costs about $US50,000 will cost only $US6000 in Taiwan."

It's obvious that some of Taiwan's Asian neighbors are succeeding in medical tourism, using Doctors that Taiwan has trained. But Shih says Taiwan is still superior, as countries such as Thailand have used medical tourism to subsidize and support their developing medical systems, whereas Taiwan simply wants to utilize the services and technology it already has. Medical procedures now on offer include coronary bypasses, prostate treatments, stomach bypass surgery (for the obese) and even hi-tech procedures for brain tumors -

Back to Tri-Service Hospital, and Director, Doctor Hsing-Lung Chao, quite passionately introduces us to a robotic looking machine called 'CyberKnife.' The machine sends non-invasive multiple photon beams to the brain tumor, requires two specially trained technicians in attendance, and six million volts to operate. Unlike older radiation therapy, patients can be treated in only one session and without side-effects like vomiting and appetite loss. Chao's team has treated a handful of foreign patients, but looks forward to a time when this is considered normal practice. He is especially interested in marketing services to China and as Shih explains, the Taiwan government has now made it much easier for people from the PRC in terms of visa requirements -

"There are now two systems; - one for patients from Western countries, and another for the PRC. Those from the PRC can get a special medical visa in just two days, which means they are not obligated to fulfill normal requirements, such as tour group affiliation. Because we speak the same language [Mandarin], having two systems also gives all parties involved a more streamlined service…"

For Westerners, Shih recently collaborated with a U.S author, producing the Taiwan edition of 'Patients Beyond Borders.' The comprehensive 288 page book provides much information, but importantly, alleviates common concerns about why Asian medical treatment is so much cheaper, as well as addressing various safety and quality stereotypes.

                                                            END.