The government’s Healthy Taiwan Cultivation Plan has helped public hospitals in the same region team up and establish healthcare networks to meet local needs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday.
The five-year plan was launched last year to address the nation’s growing demand for medical care due to an aging population and to ensure the National Health Insurance system’s sustainability.
The NT$48.9 billion (US$1.55 billion) plan includes four key areas: improving working conditions for medical personnel, cultivating diverse talent, integrating smart medical technology, and promoting socially responsible and sustainable medicine.
Photo: CNA
A seminar for ministry-affiliated hospitals to present the results of the first phase was held in Taipei yesterday.
Public hospitals are entrusted with important public healthcare responsibilities, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) said at the event, highlighting that during the COVID-19 pandemic, they played a key role in providing chronic disease care, rural healthcare and emergency medical services.
The Healthy Taiwan Cultivation Plan provides opportunities for local hospitals and frontline healthcare professionals to propose projects and healthcare models customized for local needs, while the government provides funding to carry out the approved projects, she said.
The plan encourages hospitals in the same area to team up and form alliances, and to provide more comprehensive healthcare services locally, Healthy Taiwan Promotion Committee deputy convener Chen Jyh-hong (陳志鴻) said.
Citing the example of three hospitals — Hengchun Tourism Hospital in Pingtung County, Cishan Hospital in Kaohsiung and Penghu Hospital in Penghu County — Chen said they have formed an alliance to jointly provide healthcare in the mountainous areas in the region and on the outlying island of Penghu.
The Hengchun Tourism Hospital has also integrated resources with two other nearby hospitals — Heng Chun Christian Hospital and Nan Men Hospital — to establish the first cardiac catheterization room on the peninsula, allowing people in the area to be treated locally, increasing the local patient retention rate to 72.5 percent and reducing the risk of cross-regional patient transfer, the ministry said.
Some senior hospital officials at the seminar highlighted interpretation services and planned artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted tools aimed at making healthcare more accessible to different groups, including foreign nationals.
Caring for foreign nationals, including by providing language support, is “a capability modern hospitals must have,” and it is essential to realizing “healthcare equity,” Taipei Hospital deputy superintendent Wu Chien-hsien (吳建賢) said.
Taipei Hospital launched interpretation services on the messaging app Line in August last year, enabling patients who speak Indonesian, Thai or Vietnamese to make appointments online and receive medical consultation support from interpreters, Wu said.
A total of 578 foreign nationals have signed up for the service, he said.
The hospital can also arrange interpreters to accompany foreigners during medical visits, with support available not only in the three Southeast Asian languages, but also in English, Wu said.
The on-site interpretation service, launched three years ago, have received a “good” response from foreigners, because “when they speak directly with doctors on their own, some information is often difficult to fully convey,” he said.
The two services have helped increase visits by foreign patients to the hospital, with the number rising from 3,419 in the first three months of last year to 3,622 in the same period this year, he said.
Taipei Hospital plans to introduce an AI-powered robot at its entrance later this year to answer people’s questions about hospital services in their preferred language, he said.
Taoyuan General Hospital superintendent Yang Nan-ping (楊南屏) said the hospital is developing an AI-assisted service to help people register with the appropriate department, as people who are unsure which department they should visit usually call the hospital for advice, but front-desk staff are often busy or might not always be able to provide answers.
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