The Research of Medical Tourism Policy Network in Taiwan

Abstract

Recently, the concept of medical tourism is gaining eminence in the field of health and medicine. “Medical Tourism” is a term involving people who travel to a different place to receive treatment for a disease, ailment, or condition, and who are seeking lower cost of care, higher quality of care, better access to care, or different care than they could receive at home. Currently, Taiwan government also declares its ambitions to become one of the best choices of cross-country medical care for international visitors. The government believes that Taiwan offers excellent medical care, so can take advantage of business opportunities in medical tourism as it has gained a reputation in the world and is particularly respected by the Chinese. A recent economic cooperation framework agreement (CEFA) between China and Taiwan will encourage trade and tourism between two entities across Taiwan Strait. The major purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze medical tourism policy network in Taiwan. This approach emphasizes the interaction and outcomes between actors in policy network. The paper utilizes literature review and supplements by in-depth interviews to examine Taiwan experience of medical tourism policy from the stage model of public policy implementation. The paper finds that medical tourism policy in Taiwan is a growing industry with government and hospitals’ participation. Thus, efforts should be made to encourage collaboration between the government, medical care providers, and tourism industry.