On The Planning and Development of Medical and Health Care Industry in Taiwan
Date Issued
2011
Date
2011
Author(s)
Chang, Cheng-Jen
Abstract
Background and Objectives: In recent history, living standards and average lifespan have climaxed as the technology of medical care has advanced. The health industry emerges accordingly, which includes disease treatment, care providers, preventive measures, travel, and enhancement of the well-being of body and spirit. What is being provided is a medical service or product that aims to increase health. After integration, a new cross-industrial collaboration is rendered, giving medical health industry new dimensions for development, even making them two of the significant indicators to evaluate the overall development of modern countries. With novel technologies brought forth through cross-industrial collaboration, product management becomes the promise of the future. Therefore, integrating medical care and health industries with an innovative approach and create new industrial values is the objective of this research. With a focus on exploring the mechanisms of implementing integral medical care and health industries in Taiwan, relevant regulations and laws for cross-industrial collaboration in the development of medical care and health industries are reevaluated in order to construct solutions for improvement. Considerations include suitable areas for Taiwan to develop medical care and health industries and their implementation mechanisms.
Methods: This research aims to analyze environment in the fields of medical health industry. Beginning with literary exploration, this research conducts in-depth analysis with the SWOT method that covers a broad scope in aspects of strengths and weaknesses regarding current industrial status, potential, features, and environments. Meanwhile, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is applied to the three factors, “medical health installations,” “transportation systems,” and “tour locations,” comparing their weights under various influences and configuring an evaluation made by experts and scholars in consideration for selecting potential areas to develop medical tourism. Current status for each industry will be organized and further integration with cross-industrial collaboration is made by presenting reference for zoning and developmental mechanisms to fulfill the goal of this research.
Results: Taiwan''s advanced technology in medical care and facilities, reasonable medical costs, use of Chinese language, quality tourism and accessible transportation are our advantages. However, current laws and regulations restrain the medical industry from promotional marketing, internet-oriented tourism is still immature, and the inconveniences of using foreign currencies are our disadvantages. Our opportunities also include the potential of the international medical care industry and the Chinese market, and medical tourism as one of the “National Key Projects.” The emergence of medical tourism and easy immigration procedures in neighboring counties are threats.
Concluding the priority of AHP evaluation of various counties and cities reveals “medical healthinstallations” weighs the most, follow by“transportation systems” and “tour locations”. Based on the current status in various counties and cities, basic conditions more suitable for developing medical tourism are found in Taipei City and New Taipei City in the north, Taichung City in the central area, Kaohsiung City and Tainan City in the south, and Hualien County and Taitung County in the eastern region. The results reflect on conditions of resources in terms of transportation, nature, land, local talent, and relevant facilities, with experts'' weight evaluation resulting in better scores in these regions. Future development should be based on existing resources, targeting market demand to support resources needed for that region and provide appropriate products and packages.
Conclusion: Medical health industry goes through three stages of development -- short term, mid-term and long term -- to satisfy current clients demand, including that of domestic, Chinese, and Japanese clients and coordinating with current resources in the regions that are more well-developed regions, then mid-term for less-favored regions to support the needed resources and increase service quality and development. In the long term, according to regional features for each region, the goal is to increase medical and transportation resources to develop the features for a medical health industry.
Subjects
Medical health industry
cross-industrial collaboration
Analytic Hierarchy Process
AHP
medical tourism
Type
thesis
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