Taiwan should learn from other countries to advance telehealth services in the post-COVID-19 pandemic era, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said yesterday.
Chiu made the remark at a Taipei conference titled the “Current Challenges and Opportunities in Telehealth,” held by the National Health Research Institutes (NHRI) Forum, Taipei Medical University and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.
In his opening speech, Chiu discussed the concept of “social prescribing,” encouraging healthcare providers view patients through a professional medical lens and refer them to a range of person-centered non-clinical care services to support their health and well-being.
Photo: CNA
Since becoming the director of a public health center in 1988, Chiu said he began overseeing the operations of telehealth and hospice care.
His experience working with people in hospice care showed him the importance of person-centered care and that patients are connected to the community, he said.
Person-centered care services and telemedicine have played important roles during the COVID-19 pandemic around the world, and in the post-pandemic era, many countries are pushing to advance telehealth services, Chiu said.
While different countries have different opinions on quality, regulations, ethics and privacy regarding telehealth services, it has become a common challenge for many healthcare systems around the world, he said.
Taiwan should continue to learn from and communicate with other countries to advances its telehealth services, he said.
In the post-COVID-19 era, telemedicine still faces challenges, including healthcare quality monitoring, patient privacy safety, regulations and regulatory reviews, but after some experience, the scope of telemedicine was expanded in July, NHRI Forum vice chairman Wayne Sheu (許惠恒) said.
Taipei Medical University Board of Trustees chairman Chen Ray-jade (陳瑞杰) said telemedicine did not disappear after COVID-19 ended, but transformed into telehealth, and is shifting its focus from acute care to chronic care services.
The focus of telehealth is on individuals or families, so if there is a comprehensive telehealth system, people can still receive healthcare at home when a disaster or pandemic occurs, which is an embodiment of a “resilient health system,” Chen said.
However, telemedicine in the post-COVID-19 era faces four main challenges: regulations, payment systems, technology and personal information security, he said.
The conference was held for people from the private and government sectors, academics and healthcare providers to discuss solutions, he said.
Telehealth can also be extended beyond medical treatment, to health education, holistic healthcare and weight management, or even allow people to participate in clinical trials at home, he added.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is pushing for residents of Kinmen and Lienchiang counties to acquire Chinese ID cards in a bid to “blur national identities,” a source said. The efforts are part of China’s promotion of a “Kinmen-Xiamen twin-city living sphere, including a cross-strait integration pilot zone in China’s Fujian Province,” the source said. “The CCP is already treating residents of these outlying islands as Chinese citizens. It has also intensified its ‘united front’ efforts and infiltration of those islands,” the source said. “There is increasing evidence of espionage in Kinmen, particularly of Taiwanese military personnel being recruited by the
ENTERTAINERS IN CHINA: Taiwanese generally back the government being firm on infiltration and ‘united front’ work,’ the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association said Most people support the government probing Taiwanese entertainers for allegedly “amplifying” the Chinese Communist Party’s propaganda, a survey conducted by the Asia-Pacific Elite Interchange Association showed on Friday. Public support stood at 56.4 percent for action by the Mainland Affairs Council and the Ministry of Culture to enhance scrutiny on Taiwanese performers and artists who have developed careers in China while allegedly adhering to the narrative of Beijing’s propaganda that denigrates or harms Taiwanese sovereignty, the poll showed. Thirty-three percent did not support the action, it showed. The poll showed that 51.5 percent of respondents supported the government’s investigation into Taiwanese who have
South Korean K-pop girl group Blackpink are to make Kaohsiung the first stop on their Asia tour when they perform at Kaohsiung National Stadium on Oct. 18 and 19, the event organizer said yesterday. The upcoming performances will also make Blackpink the first girl group ever to perform twice at the stadium. It will be the group’s third visit to Taiwan to stage a concert. The last time Blackpink held a concert in the city was in March 2023. Their first concert in Taiwan was on March 3, 2019, at NTSU Arena (Linkou Arena). The group’s 2022-2023 “Born Pink” tour set a
A Philippine official has denied allegations of mistreatment of crew members during Philippine authorities’ boarding of a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Monday. Philippine Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) spokesman Nazario Briguera on Friday said that BFAR law enforcement officers “observed the proper boarding protocols” when they boarded the Taiwanese vessel Sheng Yu Feng (昇漁豐號) and towed it to Basco Port in the Philippines. Briguera’s comments came a day after the Taiwanese captain of the Sheng Yu Feng, Chen Tsung-tun (陳宗頓), held a news conference in Pingtung County and accused the Philippine authorities of mistreatment during the boarding of
RSS