April 20, 2005
The Executive Yuan Science and Technology Advisory Group, in coordination with Academia Sinica, the National Science Council, the Department of Health, the
MOEA, and the National Health Research Institutes, has formulated the Biomedical Technology Island Plan. In addition to cutting National Health Insurance expenses by
NTD 10 billion annually, this plan is also projected to stimulate
NTD 40 billion in public and private investment over the next five years.
The Biomedical Technology Island Plan will be comprised of three main projects: the National Health Information Infrastructure, Taiwan Biobank (a database of disease and genetic information) and a clinical research system.
The Science and Technology Advisory Group says that Taiwan has many strengths that make it ideal for the development of biomedical technology. For instance, Taiwan has eighteen centers for medical studies, and, from 2002 to 2004, international medical organizations conducted 337 clinical studies in Taiwan.
In addition to being a great location for the establishment of Asia Pacific clinical research centers, Taiwan's world-class information technology hardware manufacturers have the ability to build the advanced
IT equipment and instruments for biomedical applications. Taiwan has already attracted major global players in this area. IBM for one operates a biological information technology research center in Taiwan.
Also, Taiwan's National Health Insurance system, which has been in operation for ten years now, is an excellent source of information for the establishment of medical and health information databases.
(Central News Agency)
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