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Jen-Ai Hospital IPC Celebrates 7th Anniversary

2010/09/27
BY MARK K. CHAN
TAICHUNG, JEN-AI HOSPITAL - DALI

　　7 years have passed since Jen-Ai Hospital International Patient Center (JAH IPC) has opened its doors to accommodate the growing medical needs of the foreign communities in Taichung. Most hospitals in Central Taiwan now provide English services to foreigners for an additional fee, however JAH IPC have been providing its free services for patient safety reasons and has gone one step further by providing "Japanese Medical Service" for the influx of Japanese expatriates coming to Central Taiwan, in recent years. Since its launch of IPC services in September 2003, Jen-Ai Hospital – Dali has had the distinction of creating the first "International Patient Center" and having the most number of international patients with different nationalities in the whole of Taiwan. IPC has also been quite fortunate to receive numerous local and international awards, as well as having several presentations accepted at various conferences and congresses around the world.

　　Although not yet Joint Commission International (JCI) Accredited, Jen-Ai Hospital International Patient Center has had over 12,000 international patient visits from more than 2,500 international patients with 85 different nationalities. The highest number of patient visits per month is currently at 282 visits, showing consistent growth over the years. What has been significant increase over the past year is that after celebrating its 1st anniversary of "Japanese Medical Service" at Jen-Ai Hospital – Dali, Japanese patients now account for a quarter of the international patient visits to date, totaling more than 3,000 visits from over 500 Japanese patients. These statistics confirm that implementing "Japanese Medical Service" in Central Taiwan have resulted in an increase of patient volume, as well as creating a new revenue stream for IPC, since majority of the self-pay Japanese patients undergo Executive Health Examination at the hospital.

　　Jen-Ai Hospital International Patient Center (JAH IPC) was created, back in September 2003, to provide on-site interpretations in English and Japanese, although interpretations in 20+ languages can be arranged through bilingual staffs and volunteers. Of particular interest is the bilingual information in 15 different languages regarding medical prescription instructions, side effects and special precautions that the hospital is able to provide to patients. With the help of its English websites and other resources, JAH IPC makes every effort to ensure the safety of its international patients that visit the hospital.

　　Jen-Ai Hospital – Dali (the hospital where IPC is located) is a not-for-profit organization with two separate branches in Taichung, located in the central part of Taiwan. Jen-Ai Hospital – Dali is considered to be a medium-sized county hospital with 623 beds; and has been accredited as the regional teaching hospital in the Dali area. The hospital was founded in 1945 and has established itself as being one of the oldest and most respectable hospitals in Taiwan. Jen-Ai Hospital – Dali branch is celebrating its 15th anniversary, this year, while Jen-Ai Hospital – Taichung branch is celebrating its 65th anniversary in November 2010.

　　In the past few years, Jen-Ai Hospital – Dali has received numerous local and international awards, namely, "10th Annual Medical Tribute Award" for its medical assistance in the 921 Earthquake; "National Biotechnology & Medical Care Quality Award" in Patient Safety, Community Services and Medical Information Website Categories; "Excellent Baby-Friendly Hospital Award" (ranked #1 in 2010); "Excellent Bilingual- Friendly Hospital Award"; "Excellent Medical Website Award"; "Health Promoting Hospital Membership Certificate" from WHO Collaborating Centre; "HONcode Website Certificate" from HON Foundation in Switzerland; "Certificate of Recognition" in IT / E-commerce Category from Asian Hospital Management Awards (held in Bangkok, Thailand); etc.

　　Earlier this year, IPC's poster presentation, entitled "Reducing Health Inequalities for Foreigners through International Patient Center", was accepted at the 18th World Health Organization (WHO) International Health Promoting Hospital (HPH) Conference (held in Manchester, U.K.). This poster was just one of the many posters that IPC has had the honor of being acknowledged in the past. The various conferences and congresses that IPC's presentations were recognized include: "1st International Forum of Patient Safety" (held in Tokyo, Japan); "2nd Asia Pacific Conference on Risk Management & Preventative Medicine" (held in Kota Bharu, Malaysia); "35th International Hospital Federation World Hospital Congress" (held in Seoul, South Korea); "2nd Union of Risk Management & Preventative Medicine's American Congress" (held in Montreal, Canada); etc.

　　Popular specialties among international patients include: Orthopedics, Cardiology, Oncology, Gastroenterology, Pediatrics, OB/GYN, Surgery, Rehabilitation, Urology, Endocrinology, etc. Past hospital projects that were first in Taiwan include: International Patient Center, Baby Web Nursery, Inpatient E-card Service, Bedside Terminal with Barcode Technology, Baby MMS & SMS (using mobile camera phone), Baby Video (using YouTube technology), Baby e-File, etc.

　　Jen-Ai Hospital – Dali's 10 Centers of Excellence include: