Dr Lee Chien-Chang, the Vice Director of the Center of Intelligent Healthcare of the NTU, said that prospective doctors used to be taught to see patients in person; however, due to the pandemic, doctors have to perform their tasks by keeping patients at a safety distance.  Contactless medicine is now a trend as it is supported by the advance of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology.  Dr Lee shared his experiences of this new trend, for example the use of VR/AR devices in ward rounds.

There was a sudden outbreak of COVID 19 in May and June in Taiwan, affecting both the elderly and the younger generation.  And this time, patients’ symptoms were less obvious.  Some patients presented with “happy hypoxia”, a condition also known as silent hypoxia where patients have low oxygen saturations, but are not in significant respiratory distress.  In such a situation, the Internet of Things (IoT) technology were used to monitor patient’s oxygen saturation level, and the collected data were analyzed by the AI, said Dr Lee.

Dr Lee mentioned that as of now there were fewer deaths caused by COVID 19; however, the number of deaths associated with vaccination has increased.  Digital technology can be used to monitor the elderly after vaccination to timely detect any abnormal reaction and prevent death.  The technology is not available under the NHI, hence, creates a huge business opportunity in preventive medicine. 

Also, the emergency service has been seriously affected by the pandemic.  Statistics show that 70% of the patients seeking treatments in the ER ward are neither severe nor acute cases.  The authority should invest in preventive medicine to reduce the NHI financial burden. 

【2021-10-21/ Economic Daily】