According to an Ipsos poll of adults in 24 countries, more than a third of people surveyed reported an interest in trying medical tourism (MT) services.1 The ITP Berlin (the International Tourism Bourse in Berlin) & IPK International estimated that the profits from MT services ranged between US$ 40 billion and US$ 60 billion, which increased by approximately 20% annually.2 Asia is one of the world's travel hot spots, and thus is a core destination for the MT market. A previous report indicated that there was a 12% increase in travels made to Southeast Asian countries in 2013.3 This implies that Taiwan, being one of the Asian countries with renowned medical care, has the potential to be a successful MT destination.The well-established National Health Insurance (NHI) system makes it more likely for Taiwan to successfully develop MT service. The NHI system provides a good model for accessibility to medical care and its efficiency has been applauded worldwide.4 Paul Krugman, winner of the 2008 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, has highly praised Taiwan's NHI system.5 The NHI system effectively reduced health care expenditure in Taiwan following the implementation of the global budget system. Despite the system's advantages with regard to equity and efficiency of medical care, the Taiwan government has been trying to identify a new strategy for the health care industry to boost its revenue. In 2010, the Government of Taiwan internationalized the health care industry. This strategy not only expanded the market size of Taiwan's health care industry, but also boosted its presence worldwide.To assist the health care industry in order to expand its market size, two phases of official strategies were established, which included the following steps.
Date:
2015-02
Relation:
Journal of the Formosan Medical Association. 2015 Feb;114(2):99-101.
