Written by Dr. Lee Po-Chang / Director General of the NHIA
In Taiwan, the public’s daily life has been greatly affected by the government’s announcement of raising the COVID 19 epidemic alert to Level 3. All over the world, plenty of medical and IT resources have been used for combating the spread of the virus. During the pandemic, Taiwan is blessed with excellent health professionals and a stable health insurance system. Moreover, the NHIA has developed three important IT kits to help combat the disease. They are: the Health Passbook, the video consultation service, and the virtual NHI Card.
After the cluster outbreak in a wholesale food market in Taipei City, traders and workers now have to present a negative test result or a vaccination record in order to enter the market. I believe that this control measure will be widely used after the lift of the lockdown restrictions. The NHIA launched the Health Passbook, an APP which shows the records of vaccination and the results of antigen tests, PCR tests and antibody tests. Instead of carrying various paper certificates, the public can use this APP to meet the entry requirement of certain public venues.
The Health Passbook was firstly launched in May 2018. It is the result of the collaboration with 5 major telecommunication companies. The public can link their mobile phone accounts with their NHI accounts and access to their health records. As the user has the total control over the access of the contents, showing the vaccination and test results has minimal risk to the security of personal medical data.
During the pandemic, video consultation service has helped many patients with chronic conditions. Such patients are vulnerable and in need of shielding. The NHIA quickly responded to the MOHW’s demand and rolled out the video consultation service nationwide. Shielded patients can use this service to be seen by doctors from the safety of the patient’s own home. Looking into the future, tele-healthcare and video healthcare will be here to stay and play an important role in the post pandemic era. Chang Ching-Sen, the Minister without Portfolio, pointed out that an expert group should be formed to address relevant issues, such as electronic patient records, electronic prescriptions, convenient and innovative ways of drug collection, etc.
The NHI IC card requires a card reader for connection. This requirement puts an obstacle in the way of tele-healthcare. To solve this problem, the NHIA introduced the “Virtual NHI Card”. This service is initially for three types of healthcare: homecare, long-distance healthcare in remote areas, and healthcare for those under quarantine or isolation.
The three important IT kits are available now. The NHIA will work hard to integrate the IT systems and develop more applications to help combat the disease and protect the people in Taiwan.
【2021-07-18 / Liberty Times】
