Taiwan - The next destination for medical travel
According to analysis by McKinsey, advanced technologies and better quality care are the two most important factors for medical tourists when choosing a destination for medical treatment. Taiwan scoreswell on both of these indicators.
Highly ranked globally
It is not a rare sight that Taiwan has been highly ranked among world indices. The island has the best healthcare system in the world, according to the 2023 edition of the CEOWORLD magazine Health Care Index, which ranks 110 countries according to factors that contribute to overall health.
CEOWorld, Countries With The Best Health Care Systems, 2023
Meanwhile, a Numbeo’s release in 2023 ranked Taiwan first in the world for the fifth consecutive year with a score of 85.9 in its "Global Health Care Index by Country".
World-class services at affordable costs
Taiwan is able to provide excellent treatment for items such as organ transplantation (liver, kidney, heart and lung transplant), cardiovascular therapy, assisted reproductive therapy, joint replacement, facial cranial reconstruction as well as elective medical tourism such as plastic surgery, physical check-ups and spa treatment.
Taiwan has a very high success rate of 81% for heart, liver and kidney transplants compared to 77-79% in the United States. The country also possesses numerous renowned medical records all over the world and Asia. According to Taiwan Task force on Medical Travel, medical fees for surgical techniques in Taiwan are around one-fifth to the US, and the expense of knee/hip joint replacement is also 40% off than Singapore and Thailand.
2020 top ranking influx of global medical tourists to Taiwan includes Southeast Asia, Mainland China, America, North-East Asia, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Photo: President Tsai Ing-wen (center) and Taipei City Vice Mayor Huang Shanshan
visited Taipei Veterans General Hospital
High standard treatment
Taiwan has national medical treatment evaluation mechanism, ranked 4th in the world and is the first country in Asia to create the evaluation mechanism. Meanwhile, hospitals in Taiwan employ highly qualified medical professionals with doctors undergoing an initial 7 years training, and following up with their specialties.
Health Care Index by Country 2024
Great patient services with visitor-friendly environment
Hospitals in Taiwan provide customer-oriented, compassionate service, for example, independent health examination facilities, teleconferences, in-person physician consultation with English-speaking medical staff and individual translation services. In most hospitals, patients are provided with a personal health manager who is responsible for them during the whole treatment process.
The follow-up programs are extremely smooth and effective as well, to guarantee that the patients have the best treatment and recovery programs beforehand. Also, Taiwanese people are extremely helpful and friendly to foreigners. In Taiwan, you will be safe even as a female solo traveler. You probably will not experience any violence or theft.
Photo: Taipei VGH’s Pediatrics Department
Easy to travel
Visitors from countries including Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, The United Kingdom, the USA, and the European Union can visit Taiwan without an official VISA.Taipei City, the capital city is well connected to most major airports in the world. The cost for daily expenses and accommodations are affordable as well, which is another attractive feature.
Photo: Medical Taiwan
(Copied and edited by IMSC)