New Mile Home Signs International Healthcare Cooperation Agreements with Linkou and Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospitals
On December 15, New Journey Hospital Group and its international medical platform, New Journey Meijia International Healthcare (hereinafter referred to as “New Journey Meijia”), successively visited Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (hereinafter referred to as “Linkou Chang Gung”) and Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (hereinafter referred to as “Keelung Chang Gung”), and signed cooperation agreements with both hospitals covering areas such as medical education, academic exchanges, remote consultations, and international patient referrals.
Both hospitals are part of the Chang Gung Medical Foundation (hereinafter referred to as “Taiwan Chang Gung”), which encompasses the entire Chang Gung healthcare system in Taiwan. Founded in 1976 by Taiwanese entrepreneur Wang Yung-ching, Taiwan Chang Gung is a non-profit hospital network that functions as a comprehensive academic medical center integrating clinical care, teaching, and research. With over 10,000 beds, it constitutes the largest and most comprehensive healthcare system in Taiwan and is the world’s largest Joint Commission International (JCI)-accredited medical center.
Located near Taipei, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital is the largest facility within the Chang Gung Medical Foundation in Taiwan, featuring 100 medical specialties, over 9,000 employees, and 3,700 hospital beds.
On the afternoon of December 15, Dr. Lai Chi-chun, Vice Superintendent of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, and Mr. Guo Liang, CEO of New Mileage Meijia, signed a cooperation agreement. In his welcome address to the team from New Mileage Hospital Group, Dr. Lai stated, “Chang Gung Memorial Hospital boasts a substantial oncology team and holds a world-leading position in fields such as plastic surgery and orthopedics, both in academic research and clinical services. We offer reasonably priced care and attract numerous international patients.”
Following the signing of the agreement, New Mileage Meijia will become a partner of the International Medical Center at the Proton and Radiation Therapy Center of Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (hereinafter referred to as the “Linkou Chang Gung Proton Center”). The two parties will collaborate in areas such as patient referrals, expert exchanges, and technical cooperation.
Proton therapy is internationally recognized as the most advanced form of radiation therapy. If conventional high-energy X-ray radiotherapy is akin to a high-speed bullet strafing and penetrating through a tumor, proton therapy resembles a depth charge, delivering targeted detonation exclusively at the tumor site with absolutely no dose deposited beyond it. Thus, it stands as a paradigm of precision medicine.
The physical properties of protons confer therapeutic advantages: they can significantly reduce the radiation dose to normal tissues and organs, thereby minimizing treatment-related side effects and lowering the risk of secondary primary tumors in the future; furthermore, they allow for escalation of the tumor radiation dose to improve tumor cure rates.
Ye Jianyi, Technical Director of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Linkou, stated that the equipment at the Linkou Chang Gung Proton Center is highly advanced. For instance, the center features four treatment rooms equipped with 360° rotating gantries. Prior to treatment, X-ray image guidance is used to precisely confirm the tumor’s location, and computer-controlled systems then adjust the beam angle to ensure the proton beam accurately targets the tumor, achieving precise therapeutic effects. According to statistics, Linkou Chang Gung is currently the only proton therapy center in the Greater Chinese region (including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Singapore, and Southeast Asia) capable of providing four treatment rooms with 360° rotational irradiation capabilities.
With the addition of the Proton Therapy Center at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Linkou, there are currently only three operational proton therapy centers in Greater China. However, dozens more are currently in the planning and construction stages across mainland China. Establishing a proton therapy center is a major undertaking, requiring capital investment in the billions of yuan and a construction period of three to five years. Moreover, annual maintenance costs after commencing operations can easily reach hundreds of millions of yuan. As many projects were initiated almost simultaneously, the return on investment for these capital-intensive proton therapy centers in the years following their launch remains uncertain.
On the afternoon of December 15, after departing from Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, a delegation from New Milestone Hospital Group immediately proceeded to Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. As a teaching hospital, Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital has a total of 1,086 beds and employs more than 2,000 staff members.
At the signing ceremony, Professor Chen Jianzong, President of Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, and Guo Liang signed the cooperation agreement. Also in attendance were Professor Li Qilong, Vice President and gynecology specialist; Professor Wu Junde, Vice President and gynecology specialist; Lin Yanglin; and others.
Dr. Li Qilong, hailed as the foremost pioneer in minimally invasive gynecologic oncology surgery in Asia, stated that Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital was among the first institutions to perform minimally invasive procedures for gynecologic cancers. Furthermore, while data from peers in the U.S. Gynecologic Oncology Group (GOG) indicate a 25.8% conversion rate from laparoscopic to open surgery, no such conversions have occurred at Keelung Chang Gung since the introduction of these procedures. Additionally, the survival rates for patients undergoing laparoscopic cervical cancer surgery at Keelung Chang Gung are significantly higher than the industry average.
Guo Liang pointed out that the collaboration between New Mileage Meijia and Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital will initially focus on cross-border cooperation for the “Gynecologic Oncology Center,” implementing cross-border multidisciplinary team (MDT) consultations for patients with gynecologic tumors. New Mileage Meijia will also promote exchanges and mutual visits between the two hospitals, provide specialized training and advanced studies for specialist physicians, and leverage the strengths of Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital to jointly establish “Gynecologic Oncology Centers” at hospitals under the New Mileage Group.
From Lin Yanglin’s perspective, in the long term, the collaboration between New Mileage Meijia and Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital as well as Keelung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital is more importantly dedicated to promoting medical exchanges and mutual visits between hospitals across the Taiwan Strait. By leveraging the advanced technologies and discipline-building capabilities of the Chang Gung medical team, this partnership aims to enhance the disciplinary strengths of hospitals under New Mileage and other domestic partner hospitals, enabling more patients to receive high-quality international-standard diagnosis and treatment within mainland China.
In April this year, Chang Gung Medical Foundation in Taiwan signed a strategic cooperation agreement with New Milestone Hospital Group. At that time, Dr. Cai Ying-Huang, President of Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, represented the entire Chang Gung Medical Foundation in Taiwan to sign the contract in Beijing. Both parties jointly established the “International Lung Cancer Center,” and subsequently carried out multiple collaborations in patient referrals and academic exchanges. To date, Chang Gung Medical Foundation in Taiwan and New Milestone Hospital Group have achieved in-depth cooperation in lung cancer, gynecologic cancers, proton therapy, and other areas.
From December 16 to 18, the 2016 Alishan International Lung Cancer Forum, co-hosted by Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Chiayi, the Chang Gung International Lung Cancer Center, and New Journey Meijia International Healthcare, among other medical institutions, will be held. During the forum, New Journey Meijia sponsored multidisciplinary consultations for four lung cancer patients with top-tier international experts, and simultaneously provided remote multidisciplinary consultation opinions to several patients in mainland China who were unable to travel to Taiwan.
New Lifeline Meijia hopes to seize this opportunity to further promote cross-border remote consultations. Cross-border healthcare is an emerging sector that has gained momentum in the past two years. Due to its high costs, it has long been regarded as a typical premium medical service. Guo Liang believes that only by providing cost-effective cross-border remote consultations and promoting collaborative diagnosis and treatment between domestic and international physicians can cross-border healthcare be expanded to price points affordable for the middle class, thereby enabling more patients to benefit from these services.
Lin Yanglin pointed out that New Mileage Meijia is one of the few “hospital-affiliated cross-border healthcare” providers. Since most other companies that facilitate overseas medical treatment for patients are not medical institutions, they need to invest heavily in marketing expenses to identify suitable patients.
New Milestone Hospital Group, with oncology as its specialty, naturally serves patients who seek overseas second and third medical opinions. Patients undergo their initial consultation at hospitals under the New Milestone Group; New Milestone Meijia then provides overseas second-opinion services or facilitates direct cross-border referrals. Upon return, patients can continue their treatment or rehabilitation within the New Milestone Hospital Group’s facilities. This integration positions New Milestone Meijia’s cross-border healthcare services as an integral component of the Group’s comprehensive patient care offerings, thereby enabling cross-border healthcare to become an accessible medical service option for middle-class families at reasonable prices.
Currently, cross-border healthcare remains expensive, and few patients actually travel abroad for medical treatment. New Milestone Hospital Group’s strategy—particularly its use of domestic hospital networks in conjunction with overseas medical institutions for multidisciplinary team (MDT) consultations—will hold greater appeal for patients in China. This approach provides more options, especially for oncology patients seeking treatment plans. Meanwhile, it is expected to significantly expand the market size of cross-border healthcare, truly reshaping the current landscape of the sector.