Taiwan’s medical institutions have set up medical or surgical training centers to continuously cultivate medical talents for research and education. To build a complete surgical training resource, it is even more important to introduce and link up the development of new surgical methods globally, and constantly improve the doctor training mode. Under the guidance of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the consortium legal person, the Medical Excellence TAIWAN (MET), medical institutions connect with Taiwan’s medical and health industry, and has made the training center a demo site for Taiwan’s medical and health industry. It has become the best place to demonstrate the integration of domestic medical and industrial practices.

Amidst the global epidemic situation, there has been a significant increase in demand for long-distance services, and the integration of digital medical development and clinical services has become an important means to promote medical equity and achieve comprehensive healthcare. In light of this, the MET, the Institute for Information Industry (III), and the Chang Gung Medical Foundation have jointly invited the office in Taiwan to promote the international exchange and application of smart medicine.

This event, titled “Chang Gung Medical System with Diversified Development in Academia, Medicine and Industry,” invited 14 representatives and officials from 11 countries to attend, including Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Somaliland, Brunei, Finland, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Thailand, Mexico, Hungary, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Today (26), we visit the Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Linkou to learn about the world’s largest medical group and its ecosystem of multidisciplinary development in research, clinical practice, teaching and industry.

In this exchange activity, the main focus was to share the forward-looking medical research and development of Chang Gung Hospital, including advanced research results such as cell therapy center, AI big data center, and clinical patents, as well as share international medical cooperation and physician training experiences. Additionally, we visited the largest proton therapy center in Asia, the Da Vinci Surgical Training Center, and the “Chang Gung International Surgical Training Center,” which will be opening in March 2023.

MET said that Chang Gung is actively developing unique medical training centers that can cultivate not only the medical technology of domestic doctors but also attract more international medical staff to study in Taiwan, which can increase Taiwan’s new highlights in the world of medicine. Additionally, Chang Gung Medical Technology Co., Ltd. and Yunxiang Technology were invited to showcase the use of intelligent medical equipment, traditional Chinese medicine health care products, blood pathology AI-assisted interpretation, and digital pathology systems to the diplomatic envoys in Taiwan.
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The Institute for Information Industry (III) stated that Taiwan’s information and communications industry is highly competitive globally, and the well-established health insurance system and excellent medical services provide a solid foundation for the development of smart medicine in Taiwan. Cross-domain integrated applications of smart medicine include medical care, disease management, public health monitoring, education, and research. Through close cooperation between the medical community and ICT professionals, the use of AI technology to assist in diagnosis decision-making, remote monitoring using wearable devices, and other initiatives can reduce the burden on medical personnel, improve the efficiency and quality of medical services, and create people-centered smart medical services.

To promote the health and well-being of all human beings in the future is a common vision worldwide. The industry, government, university and research circles are working together to promote international cooperation and the application of new technology and communication technology in the medical and health fields, aiming to bring medical services into a new era. In the future, we will continue to work together to promote Taiwan’s smart medicine to the international stage.

The Institute for Information Industry stated that Taiwan’s information communications industry is highly competitive in the world, and the perfect health insurance system and excellent medical services have provided a solid foundation for the development of smart medicine in Taiwan.

▲Group photo of The MOU Signing Ceremony
​ ​(From left to right: Chairman CHEN, YU-RAY of MET, Chairman SU JIA-CHYUAN of Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, Minister HSUEH JUI-YUAN of Health and Welfare, Deputy Representative Takashi Hattori of Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association, Vice Chairman Kenichi Komatsu of MEJ)

Witnessed by Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-Yuan, Chairman of Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Su Jia-Chyuan and Deputy Representative of Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association Takashi Hattori, the "Memorandum of Promoting Cooperation in the Medical and Health Field between Taiwan and Japan" for Medical Excellence TAIWAN (MET) and Medical Excellence Japan (MEJ) was signed by MET Chairman Chen, Yu-Ray with MEJ Chairman Hiroshi Kasanuki and Vice Chairman Kenichi Komatsu. The signing ceremony was originally scheduled for December 18, 2021 but postponed until now, due to the rampage of Covid-19 pandemic and the tightening of border control in various countries. With the alliance partnership, MET and MEJ will gather resources and accelerate close cooperation to jointly drive the development of the medical and health industries in both Taiwan and Japan so as to extend and spread the MExx concept.

In view of Taiwan’s outstanding performance in digital epidemic prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic period in the past two plus years, Minister of Digital Affairs Audrey Tang was invited as a special guest speaker at the seminar. Her speech also serves to kick off the three major themes ─ “Promoting the Globalization of Healthcare”, “Current Situation and Challenges of Advanced Diagnostic and Treatment Technology Services”, “The Future and Prospect of Digital Healthcare” for the forum on September 3. For each of the themes and its subtopics, experts from Taiwan and Japan were invited to publish and share the latest achievements and trends and authoritative experts were invited to serve as commentators, hoping that the elites from industry, government and academia could help deepen the international exchanges and interactions between the medical and health industries of the two countries.

Participating in the grand event were many Taiwanese and Japanese experts, scholars, medical institutions, academic associations, and industry players. In addition, simultaneously held at the venue in Tokyo, Japan was a video conferencing of this event, in which more than 200 Taiwanese and Japanese VIPs took part. It is expected that a Taiwanese delegation will be organized to visit key medical institutions and academic research units in Japan at the end of this year, so as to continue the intense exchanges between Taiwan and Japan, explore business opportunities and open a new chapter for both sides.

Under the guidance of Minister Chen Shih-Chung of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Medical Excellence TAIWAN (MET) and the Medical Excellence JAPAN (MEJ) jointly hosted the “First Taiwan-Japan Medical Cooperation Seminar.” Led by MET Chairman CHEN, YU-JUI (currently the honorary chairman of Chang Gung Medical Foundation) and MET Vice Chairman CHEN, CHIEN-CHIH (currently the chairman of Kaohsiung Medical University), the ceremony successfully concluded on April 13.

To strengthen and promote the medical cooperation between Japan and Taiwan, the seminar aimed to help participants from both countries understand the current situation of international development, medical policies, service certification systems, and other related issues through discussions about bilateral medical systems, policies, and medical care. In particular, the executive vice president of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, SHIH, CHUNG-LIANG, was invited to give a keynote speech on the topic of “The Current Situation and Future Prospects of the Internationalization of Taiwan’s Medical and Health Industry.” Dr. WU, MING-YEN, the chief executive of MET, further explained “Taiwan’s Medical Internationalization and Medical Tourism,” while Japan’s MEJ engaged in in-depth discussions on the topics of “Promotion of Japan’s International Medical Cooperation” and “Infrastructure for Japan’s Medical Globalization.”
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Nearly 300 representatives from industry, government and medical circles in Taiwan and Japan participated in this online seminar, including Japanese MEJ members, Japanese medical institutions such as The University of Tokyo Hospital, the University of Tsukuba Hospital, and the Kameda Medical Center, as well as representatives from medical-related enterprises like Terumo, Olympus, Canon, Konica, Tanabe Pharma, Otsuka Pharmaceutical, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Hitachi, Ltd., Fuji Film, Sumitomo Heavy Industries Ltd., Itochu Corporation, and Shimadzu Corporation. Representatives from Taiwan’s medical institutions that mainly promote international medical services were also invited to attend the seminar. The MET Foundation would like to express sincere thanks to all the participants who found time in the midst of pressing affairs.

MEJ is a representative organization in Japan established under the guidance of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), comprising industry, government, and academic circles. In support of the MExx concept advocated by former MEJ Chairman Kondo and to promote the internationalization and industrialization of Taiwan’s medical and health industry, industry, government and academia jointly established Medical Excellence TAIWAN (MET), which completed its legal person registration announcement on September 30, 2021. Going forward, under the guidance of government ministries, MET will continue to help gather medical institutions and healthcare industries, build a resource network platform, and play an integrated role. This seminar is the first online seminar officially authorized by the Japanese and Taiwan governments to cooperate with foreign foundations, taking a significant step in the field of international medical cooperation between Taiwan and Japan!