The government is to hold a new round of discussions next week on a proposal to digitize National Health Insurance (NHI) information so that health cards would no longer be required, Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳) said.
Tang, who is responsible for the government’s digital technology portfolio, on Thursday said that the idea is for NHI members to have their medical information stored on their cellphones or other devices.
In the previous round of discussions, about 30 people of various ages and from different parts of Taiwan, as well staff members of major hospitals and small clinics, gave their views on the proposal, Tang said.
She said the plan is not to force all NHI members to go digital, but rather to offer the option to those who might like to do so.
The government will also take into consideration the needs of people living in less digitally advanced areas of the country, Tang said.
“What we will do is make the option available to those who wish to adopt it,” she said, adding that Taiwan already has the technology to carry out such a plan.
Tang said she did not think a change to e-government and digitization would be difficult, even for older people.
Citing the example of Pokemon Go, Tang said that when the mobile game was first released in Taiwan, it was played mostly by people familiar with augmented-reality technology, but now everyone, from schoolchildren to elderly people, are playing it.
Tang was one of the speakers at the Digital Innovation Forum, which was held on Thursday and yesterday at the Taipei International Convention Center.
The forum focused on artificial intelligence, scientific and financial technology, and digital innovation.
Sponsored by the APEC Business Advisory Council, the forum was jointly organized by Taiwan and Papua New Guinea.
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