Healing Travel, Taiwan Style:

“Thank you! Si Yu’os ma’åse’, Taiwan!” Ted D. Nelson from Guam expressed his gratitude to China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) in both English and Chamorro after receiving care there. Nelson had suffered from severe hip and spine problems for nine years, giving him a bent back and severe pain that made even walking or sleeping into an ordeal. It was only after coming to Taiwan for surgery that he was finally able to again raise his head and gaze at the sky. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released a short video of his touching story on its Trending Taiwan YouTube channel, with the title Looking Up Again.

Diana from Guam came to China Medical University Hospital (CMUH) in Taiwan to undergo an innovative one-stop surgery combining atrial fibrillation ablation with left atrial appendage closure, and recovered well under the care of the international healthcare team.

Refined international healthcare

“For international healthcare to be successful depends one half on doctors and the other half on support personnel,” says Chou Aichi, CEO of the International Center at CMUH, explaining that in practice, to attract foreigners for medical tourism attention must be devoted to many complementary measures beyond medical skills and technology alone. These include, for example, diagnostic consultations by videoconferencing before patients come to Taiwan, timely responses to patients’ queries, and well-defined treatment plans, as well as support with visa applications, airline reservations, and accommodations. Chou teaches English classes to her medical colleagues to lay the foundations for even better doctor‡patient relations. When a patient arrives in Taiwan they must be met in person at the airport and must be accompanied by a case manager throughout their course of treatment in order to put them at ease and ensure the quality of their healthcare services.

The team’s coordination abilities are really put to the test in making sure that international patients can complete a satisfying medical journey within a limited ­number of travel days. Chou relates the following example: An important political figure from Guam was suffering complications from a serious automobile accident she had been involved in while visiting Arizona in the US, and required treatment in multiple medical departments. She had originally wanted to get care in Arizona, but despite spending three months trying to get appointments she was unable to receive the treatment she needed. However, thanks to arrangements made by CMUH, in Taiwan she was able to have 12 outpatient sessions with various specialists in just one week, leaving her dazzled by the technology and level of service offered by healthcare providers in Taiwan.

Chou Aichi (right) of CMUH has made it her mission to “make friends around the world through healthcare” as she works to introduce Taiwan’s excellent medical services to the international community. The photo shows Chou with Aung Htet Naing from Myanmar.

Ted D. Nelson (left) from Guam suffered with crippling hip and spinal problems for many years. After being treated in Taiwan, he is again able to stand up straight and proud and he has gotten his smile back.

Making friends around the world

Taiwan’s healthcare has an excellent reputation internationally, and has numerous times been listed as number one in the world Health Care Index published by the global database website Numbeo. Wu Ming-yen, CEO of the Medical Excellence Taiwan foundation, describes Taiwan’s competitive advantages, which include high-­quality healthcare at reasonable prices, thoughtful hotel-like service, ample medical instruments and equipment, and short waiting times for treatment.

Chou Aichi states that CMUH has always had the ideal of “making friends around the world through healthcare,” and has long been working to build up the medical tourism market in Guam. During the Covid-19 pandemic, they organized humanitarian charter flights to bring patients to Taiwan for treatment. She says with a smile that the clients at the International Center generally are introduced to Taiwanese healthcare by word of mouth, and as a result, although direct flights between Guam and Taiwan were suspended during the pandemic, people from Guam never ceased to make journeys to Taiwan to seek medical care.

Chou, who always treats people with warmth and sincerity, has made friends from a wide variety of countries. One example is Aung Htet Naing from Myanmar. At the time when he arrived in Taiwan for treatment he had severe scoliosis and kyphosis of the spine, his breathing functioned at only 30% of the level of a healthy person, and he was very shy in social interactions. His attending physician said: “We are like his parents in Taiwan. We have to cure him.” The treatment period happened to overlap with the Lunar New Year holiday, and Chou even went out in the rain to deliver food to Aung Htet Naing, which was very heartwarming for him.

Taiwan has world-class medical technology that attracts medical tourists to Taiwan. The photo shows the proton therapy machine at CMUH.

Wu Ming-yen, CEO of Medical Excellence Taiwan, observes that in recent years Taiwan has improved its procedures for providing healthcare to foreigners and grown more adept at marketing these services.(photo by Lin Min-hsuan)

One of the distinctive features of healthcare in Taiwan is the combination of Western and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). TCM not only can treat symptoms, but can also be curative. The photo shows acupuncture therapy. (MOFA file photo)

A Vietnamese girl named Bao expressed her gratitude for her treatment in Taiwan through drawings. This image shows her medical team expressing best wishes at her bedside.(courtesy of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital)

World class medical technology

Cancer is a group of diseases that medical professionals and scientists worldwide have been laboring to combat for the last 100 years, and Taiwan too is actively engaged in therapeutic research. For example, proton therapy employs cutting-edge medical technology, and there are now proton therapy machines in northern, central, and southern Taiwan, giving Taiwan a high concentration of such facilities relative to its population. The advantages of proton therapy are that it can precisely target tumors and has few side effects.

Another of the world’s most advanced technologies is heavy ion therapy. Taipei Veterans General Hospital ­formally opened Taiwan’s first Heavy Ion Therapy ­Center in 2023, and it is only the 14th such facility operating in the world.

Taiwan has also introduced other advanced therapeutic technologies in step with Europe and North America, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. Li Chi-cheng, director of the Center of Stem Cell & Precision Medicine at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital, states, “CAR T-cell therapy is an innovative treatment for cancer that combines cell therapy, gene therapy, and immunotherapy.” It has been used to successfully treat many difficult cases of hematological neoplastic diseases (including leukemia and lymphoma) in patients from overseas.

For example, a Vietnamese girl named Bao first fell ill with leukemia at the age of six. The disease was brought under control by chemotherapy, but she suffered a relapse at age 11. At that time she received a bone marrow transplant, but two years later she suffered a more serious relapse, with bone marrow failure. With her body unable to make blood platelets, Bao could only survive through transfusions. After getting information from fellow patients in Vietnam, she wished to come to Hua­lien Tzu Chi Hospital to seek a lifesaving solution. The medical team developed a treatment program for Bao and after being granted an emergency medical visa, she came to Taiwan for CAR T-cell therapy and finally was declared cancer free after several months of treatment.

Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital is promoting precision healthcare combining Western medicine and TCM. They use genetic testing to help select optimal Chinese herbal medicines for patients. (courtesy of Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital)

Gaeavilla Resort has a dietician on staff who uses environmentally friendly ingredients to provide delicious, healthy meals. (courtesy of Gaeavilla Resort)

Combined Chinese and Western medicine

The effectiveness of NRICM101, an herbal treatment for Covid-19 developed in Taiwan during the pandemic, drew worldwide attention to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In addition, Taiwanese practitioners have been proactively developing medical treatments that integrate Western and Chinese medicine, and these have become a major feature of Taiwan’s international healthcare services.

When the concept of integrated Western and Chinese medicine is mentioned, most people will think of the use of TCM as a supplementary treatment, for example to boost a patient’s immune system and offset the side effects of Western medicine. However, Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital is promoting precision healthcare combining the two, and has created the first ever data­base linking genetic testing with Chinese herbal medicine to enable doctors to precisely select TCM treatments for patients.

A businessman from Hong Kong came to Tzu Chi with a case of Parkinson’s disease that had reduced his mobility. A team at the hospital found a Chinese herbal medicine that could treat his genetic defect, and by using this in combination with stem cell therapy and rehabilitation, the patient’s mobility was gradually restored, and he was even able to go back to playing golf.

Behind the medical team at Tzu Chi, Hualien’s beautiful natural scenery and its wellness resorts play a strong supporting role in attracting medical tourists.

Sherry Yin, chairlady of the Yinsherb group, which has been cultivating organic aromatic herbs in Hualien for over 30 years, opened the Gaeavilla Resort hotel to create a space focused on health and wellbeing. There is a herb garden on the grounds that grows hundreds of herbs, and Yin says that every breath that guests take there is of healthy air packed with negative ions and phytoncides. The hotel staff includes a dietician who devises customized menus of nourishing dishes for customers who have special wellness or convalescent needs.

To enable guests to completely relax in both body and spirit, each room at Gaeavilla comes with a steam room as well as a supply of fresh aromatic herbs to allow them to enjoy aromatherapy in their rooms. Moreover, the resort also offers yoga classes, wellness lectures, and bicycles with which to explore the natural scenery, such as admiring Mt. Qilai or following the local Maplewood Trail.

Sherry Yin’s enthusiasm and determination have attracted many like-minded international friends, such as an Indonesian businessman surnamed Liu who himself owns a hotel. Liu was diagnosed with end-stage lung cancer that had metastasized to his bone marrow, but the medical team at Tzu Chi worked jointly with Gaeavilla to devise a treatment program for him. After four months of care his lung tumor had disappeared and the metastatic tumors were gone too. He had successfully beaten cancer.

Li Chi-cheng says that at Hualien Tzu Chi Hospital patients not only receive therapy, they can also hear lectures every morning by Master Cheng Yen, the Buddhist nun who founded the Tzu Chi organization. Because the lectures are accompanied by English subtitles, foreigners can take in Master Cheng Yen’s wisdom concerning life and death, which can inspire people to reassess their lives or offer them solace amidst their troubles. “This kind of humanitarian concern is especially emphasized at Tzu Chi.”

Dr. Su Jui Yung, author of a book on therapeutic walks in Taiwan and former deputy superintendent of Kaohsiung Municipal United Hospital, notes that Taiwan’s mountain forests are highly accessible. One can go from the sea to the mountains in a single day, and in the highlands one can taste various local teas and soak in hot springs, all of which are part of the Taiwanese-style therapeutic method. Li Chi-cheng adds that Taiwan has a very consumer-friendly environment, convenient transportation, political and economic stability, and a safe society, all of which add to Taiwan’s attractiveness to foreigners who are interested in medical tourism. 

The aromatic herb maze at Gaeavilla Resort, which invites everyone to come to Hualien for a relaxing and therapeutic stay. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)