Closing the Out-of-Pocket Gap in Healthcare: PatientsForce Named a 2026 Global Good Awards Finalist
AI-translated from the Chinese original · editorially reviewed
Taiwan's healthcare sustainability sector has earned significant international recognition. The Global Good Awards (GGA) in the United Kingdom — widely regarded as a gold standard in sustainability recognition — has published its 2026 shortlist, and PatientsForce, Taiwan's patient support ecosystem, is a finalist for Global Good Trailblazer of the Year, recognised for a digital solution that closes the out-of-pocket gap in access to innovative treatment.
Unlike traditional charitable models that depend on external donations, PatientsForce has built a self-sustaining commercial model funded jointly by pharmaceutical and corporate partners — an expression of the principle that people, planet and profit can grow together.
An awards programme accredited at the highest standard
Founded in 2015, the Global Good Awards is known for its transparency and impartiality, and was the first awards programme in the world to be accredited at the highest level of the Awards Trust Mark, a standard it has maintained annually since 2018. Its judging criteria focus strictly on demonstrated results rather than stated future ambitions, and past winners include Sky and the sustainable-finance pioneer Triodos Bank. Also on the 2026 shortlist is Taiwan's Buddhist Tzu Chi Charity Foundation, named a finalist for Community Partnership of the Year for its Specialized Mobile Dental Action programme in Tijuana, Mexico.
Sean Chang, Chairman and President of Media-WIND Health Holdings, said: "As medicine becomes more personalised, health equity has to be addressed through market mechanisms as well. Digital innovation is a means to lower transaction costs and raise efficiency — but the end goal must always be wider access to innovative medicines and care."
Closing the gap: more than NT$10 billion in medication subsidies delivered as of 2025
Faced with the out-of-pocket burden created by high-cost innovative therapies, PatientsForce has worked since its founding in 2017 to bridge the distance between specialty medicines and what patients can actually afford, supporting the national health system through a new operating model. To date it has partnered with more than 50 leading pharmaceutical companies — including top-20 global multinationals — to run Patient Support Programmes in Taiwan, and has more recently established Expanded Access Programmes with supply chains in Europe, the United States and Japan, extending the service into international markets.
"Through this ecosystem, more than NT$10 billion in medication subsidies had reached patients in urgent need as of 2025," Chang explained. "Each year we help over 30,000 patients obtain critical treatment without delay, across more than 70% of designated critical-illness types and over a hundred medicines — materially reducing the financial toxicity of illness for countless families."
Green healthcare: a fully digital process saving the equivalent of 480 trees a year
PatientsForce's environmental record is equally strong, including a bronze rating in the EcoVadis international sustainability assessment. The platform pioneered an eight-step, one-stop digital patient journey that integrates electronic applications, healthcare financing, pharmaceutical logistics and professional nursing follow-up. Beyond improving efficiency of care, the paper-free process avoids paper consumption equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of more than 480 mature trees.
"PatientsForce has already formed alliances with patient support partners across several markets," Chang added. "We plan to extend the digital healthcare model proven in Taiwan across Asia, and show the world how technology can ease the medical burden people carry."
Global Good Awards official site: https://globalgoodawards.co.uk/
Media contacts
PatientsForce, Media-WIND Health Holdings Olivia Chang olivia.chang@media-wind.com.tw
PatientsForce, Media-WIND Health Holdings Stewart Lin stewart.lin@media-wind.com.tw
Photo: Sean Chang, Chairman and President of Media-WIND Health Holdings, on plans to extend the group's proven model across Asia in pursuit of health equity.