影響境外工作者對遠距醫療接受度因素之探討－－以上海地區台商為例

Examining Factors Related to Acceptance of Telemedicine Among Taiwan's Expatriate Workers Living in ShangHai of China

台灣屬於海島型且以出口為導向的經濟型態之國家，因應全球化的趨勢，境外工作者日益增多。由於生活環境與原住國不同，特別是健康照護的問題成為這些境外工作者最主要的需求。尤其自1987年政府開放兩岸交流以來，雙方的經貿關係快速發展，推估赴大陸投資或就業定居的台商人數已超過75萬人，相對的醫療需求也急速增加。本研究係以問卷調查大陸上海地區的台商，共352份有效問卷，探討境外工作者對於遠距醫療的接受度和相關影響因素，例如就醫行為、意圖、對母國醫療服務之評價等。使用的問卷包括：「選擇就醫機構意圖量表」依據疾病嚴重程度，選擇台灣醫療機構或是大陸醫療機構的意圖；「就醫環境評估量表」探討受試者對於兩地醫療機構整體服務品質之主觀認知，分成專業專科、人與環境、就醫流程三個因素；「遠距醫療接受度」分成態度和有用性兩個因素。結果顯示台商對於兩岸的醫療環境評價上，認為台灣在「專業專科」、「人與環境」、「就醫流程」較優的分別佔79.3％、81％、79.8％。而在影響遠距醫療接受度的迴歸分析結果顯示，大陸台商的教育程度越高、就醫次數越多、居住在大陸 時間越長、對台灣醫療機構中的專業專科評價越高，對於遠距醫療的接受態度與有用性也越高。依據本研究結果，顯示大陸台商對於台灣醫療機構的服務品質和水準評價仍高於中國，在目前登陸建立醫療機構仍具有相當風險情況下，提供遠距醫療可視為滿足台商醫療需求的一種醫療服務模式。

As an export-oriented country, Taiwan needs to cope with the trend of globalization. As a result of this trend, more Taiwan's workers are working and living abroad. Due to cultural differences, these expatriate workers may have special needs for healthcare issues. Since the open policy in 1987, investment in China from Taiwan's enterprises increases rapidly. At present, there are at least 750,000 Taiwan's expatriate workers in China and their needs for healthcare are growing fast. The current research aims to examine factors related to acceptance of telemedicine among Taiwan's expatriate workers living in ShangHai area of China. These factors included healthcare preferences and differences of valuation between Taiwan's and China's healthcare services. Three questionnaires were used in this study. The 'Healthcare Preference Scale' is used to evaluate to which degree the subjects prefer Taiwan's healthcare services to China's. The 'Healthcare Service Environment Rating Scale' assesses perceived quality of healthcare environment in Taiwan and China, respectively. This scale includes three factors, namely specialty, environment, and process. The 'Telemedicine Acceptance Questionnaire' investigates subjects' attitudes and usability towards telemedicine. The results suggested that subjects value Taiwan's healthcare services better than Chinas in specialty (79.3%), environment (81%), and process (79.8%). The results of regression analysis showed that more positive attitudes and higher usability ratings obtained from expatriate workers with higher education level, pay more visits to healthcare institutes, longer time staying in China, and higher valuation in specialty about Taiwan's healthcare services. According to the current research, expatriate workers have higher valuation towards Taiwan's healthcare services. At present, the provision of Telemedicine service may be taken as a good business model and helps to fulfill medical needs for Taiwan's expatriate workers in China.