Smart medicine and the Taiwan M Team
Since 2009, CCH has worked with northern Thailand’s Overbrook Hospital, providing free clinics and training medical personnel. Taiwan’s Medical and Healthcare Regional Partnership policy has enabled the two hospitals to expand their services throughout Thailand, offering a wider array of medical projects and resources.
Nina Kao, CEO of CCH’s Overseas Medical Mission Center, says, “We first conducted investigations and research, finding that Thailand is promoting Industry 4.0 and the Eastern Economic Corridor. CCH has experience in building the first smart green-energy hospital in Taiwan. We can meet the needs of Thailand’s e-health plan by sharing our experience and technology.”
Guided by “business thinking,” the Ministry of Health and Welfare asked the participating hospitals to lead vendors in exhibiting at the Taiwan Expo and medical equipment expositions. For example, at the Medical Device ASEAN Exhibition held in Thailand in 2019, 16 Taiwanese firms showed their products on the main stage. As a result, the Taiwanese booths were mobbed, while Japanese and South Korean booths were virtually deserted. Medimaging Integrated Solution Inc. (MiiS), which in the past dealt primarily with the American market and whose Horus scope digital telemedicine camera is installed on US Air Force One, took part in the MDA exhibition and immediately received a slew of orders. Consequently, the company’s 2019 ASEAN market revenue grew by 25% as compared to 2018.
Vendors appreciate the effectiveness of this “mother hen leading the chicks” approach. “How do we convince directors of foreign hospitals to trust a medical equipment company that is only three years old?” asks Beren Hsieh, business development manager at imedtac Co., Ltd. Thanks to the government’s New Southbound Policy and CCH’s leadership, the visiting hospital directors witnessed imedtac’s smart vital signs station, its postoperative waste disposal robot ORber, and other products in action at Yuanlin Christian Hospital. Seeing is believing!
Dr. Hsu I-lin, director of the International Medical Center at NCKUH, who was in charge of the hospital’s One Country, One Center project with India from 2018 to 2019, has also contributed to the effort. In cooperation with Karma, a Taiwanese assistive devices manufacturer with deep roots in the Indian market, Hsu set up the “Taiwan M-Team” website in June 2019, and was joined by 40 medical and healthcare device vendors with their eyes on the Indian market.
Karma has more than 1700 distribution bases and 24 delivery warehouses in India. The company shares its bases in India with newly arrived Taiwanese vendors, provides them with consignment sale facilities, and teaches localized and customized marketing strategies, enabling manufacturers to shorten exploration periods and enjoy the benefits of teamwork.
A team from the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research assists in interfacing with Taiwan hospital teams and leads medical-related businesses into New Southbound Policy partner countries. (photo by Lin Min-hsuan)