Evaluating International Medical Tourism in Taiwan

[[abstract]]旅遊業是21世紀最具發展潛力的產業，倘若將最具潛力的「旅遊」產業與「醫藥服務」產業互相結合，則可與一般的傳統旅遊區隔，而創造出一種另類旅遊方式。本研究目的是評估台灣發展國際醫療旅遊的競爭力與研擬一套執行策略。研究方法，採質性－半結構式的訪談，進行蒐集研究主題的相關資料；資料的處理與分析，採用主題分析法進行議題的命名與詮釋。研究發現，目前台灣僅偏重於「醫療服務」的層面，而未來應調整為指標性「醫療項目」與「旅遊」兼具的策略，以帶動相關產業的競爭力。[[abstract]]Medical tourism—an alternative tourism, where patients travel overseas for operations, has grown rapidly in the 21st century. This study presents the results of a study assessing global competitions of medical tourism for Taiwan. Qualitative semi-structured interview was employed for data collection. Through a thematic analysis of the interview data, this study seeks to interpret theme concepts and constructs. The results, in summary, indicate that integrating “medical service” into “tourism service” is a good way for enhancing Taiwan’s competitive strengths. In addition, this study proposes an executive strategy to develop medical tourism for Taiwan