BioMed Taiwan

The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare signed an MOU with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) of the United States on November 13, 2023. The partnership enables further information exchange and workforce training to enhance the healthcare information management system, strengthen cybersecurity resilience, and align with international healthcare information standards to drive digital transformation in Taiwan’s healthcare system.

Director General Chung-Liang Shih of the NHIA said during the signing ceremony that the Covid-19 pandemic in the past three years has prompted the rapid development in telemedicine and digital health. Moreover, Taiwan is likely to turn into a super-aged society in 2025, the necessity and urgency of digital transformation are more pressing as we face the rapid growth in the aging population, sub-replacement fertility, and workforce shortage. Therefore, the NHIA submitted the proposal for the Health Equity and NHI Digital Transformation Project, which was approved by the Executive Yuan on August 17, 2023. The project comprises 8 strategies in 4 aspects: empowerment, cloud system, service without wall, and data ecosystem. The objective of this project is to establish a people-centered digital platform (the so-called family medicine platform) that compiles all health data. Moreover, the NHIA would like to work with medical institutions or private businesses to develop a personalized App that enhances people’s health literacy and health management. The App provides feedback regarding such personalized data to the doctors and is equipped with AI assistance to achieve effective disease management. In addition, the project aims to use digital tools to help local clinics and community pharmacies upgrade their information systems and achieve “cloudification” while introducing international standards to enhance data interoperability and improve healthcare performance.

HIMSS is a globally operating nonprofit organization with more than 60 years of history that endeavors in promoting the application of information technology in health services. The organization operates across North America, Europe, the UK, the Middle East, and the Asian Pacific regions and is extremely experienced in promoting global digital transformation. HIMSS offers excellent advice and instructions on data governance and management, focusing on reforming healthcare quality, safety, cost efficiency, and sustainability of global health ecosystem through the power of information technology and management. A number of hospitals or healthcare systems pioneering in smart medicine in Taiwan have introduced the management model of HIMSS and achieved outstanding outcomes.

For this MOU, both parties have focused on integrating the HIMSS Digital Health Indicator (DHI) and cybersecurity optimization strategies to help the NHIA establish the previously mentioned digital platform and optimizing the performance of cross-system data processing. Moreover, the collaboration aims to enhance the smart utilization of health data and improve the NHI database ecosystem to refine overall healthcare quality. The four main focuses of the collaboration are as follows:

1. Holistic healthcare: Improving population health through digital transformation and collaboration.

2. Digital capacity building: Establishing an NHI digital health ecosystem through an evidence-driving approach and the DHI framework to develop electronic medical records, digital imaging, data analysis, and infrastructure.

3. Cybersecurity resilience: Enhancing data governance, facilitating data access, and minimizing risks associated with sensitive data utilization.

4. Workforce development: Establishing digital health capacity and innovation programs for the workforce.

HIMSS President & CEO Hal Wolf said that digital health technology application is a vital step in improving health equity and patient outcomes for Taiwan’s healthcare system. With this collaboration, the NHIA and HIMSS have demonstrated their ongoing commitment to increasing healthcare access, better protecting patient data, and training the future healthcare workforce. Together, the NHIA and HIMSS will help to transform healthcare in Taiwan.

The NHIA Director General Chung-Liang Shih emphasized that agility and resilience are key to the sustainable development of a healthcare system. Information technology infrastructure, cybersecurity, digital health adoption, and digital health data ecosystem are indispensable in achieving sustainability. This collaboration shall facilitate the NHI information system upgrade and alignment with international standards, drive digital transformation for the healthcare systems in Taiwan, improve healthcare quality and efficiency, and benefit the overall population health.

Date: 2023-11-29
Source: National Health Insurance Administration,Ministry of Health and Welfare