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Yaung Chih-Liang: Health tourism could help retain bio-medical professionals in Taiwan ( 2010-07-16 )
Yaung Chih-Liang: Health tourism could help retain bio-medical professionals in Taiwan (2010/07/16)
Reported by Hsieh Po-Hong from Taipei
Yaung Chih-Liang yesterday pointed out the importance of promoting the health tourism industry to attract patients from other countries without affecting the health resources for local residents. By creating demands, the health tourism industry will help retain medical professionals in Taiwan.
Yaung Chih-Liang made a speech in a seminar, talking about the outlook for the health policy in Taiwan. He said the DOH not only is an administrative authority, but also plays a crucial role in steering the development of health industries.
Yaung talked about the rationale behind the development of the health tourism industry. He said that the high standard healthcare services are Taiwan's competitive edge in the global market of health tourism. The healthcare industry in Taiwan still has sufficient capacity to cater for international patients, as long as its account is distinctively separated from the NHI account.
Yaung expressed that Chinese patients are our prime target, though many lawmakers oppose to this idea. But, the reality is that it is either Chinese patients come to us or our doctors go to them. If we don't try to increase the demands, the supply will be diminished to keep the market balanced.
The DOH's future health policy covers six directions, including transforming DOH into the Department of Health and Welfare, improving public health services, providing comprehensive healthcare services, building long-term care capacities, pushing NHI reform and promoting the development of bio-medicine.
Yaung stressed that DOH is planning to allocate a budget of NT$2bn annually for the "Disease Prevention Fund". This plan is still needed to be approved by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).
The extraordinary legislative session in July ended yesterday, and drew no conclusions on the 2nd Generation NHI bill. Yaung Chih-Liang expressed that the average premium fees in Taiwan are just about NT$6000. With such a small fee, the insured enjoy average NT$20,000 worth of healthcare services. Compared with the system in the US, the NHI in Taiwan charges too low.
【2010-07-16/ Economic Daily News/ Page A4】 |
