Prof Chen Ray-Jade, Superintendent of the Taipei Medical University Hospital (TMUH), expressed on the 27th that the 5G service will reshape the healthcare industry. There will be revolutionary changes in clinical diagnosis, long-distance care, how patients’ records are kept, and how patients seek medical treatments. It is a disruptive innovation which will increase the value of the industry, said Prof Chen.
Prof Chen was invited to give a speech in the 2019 Innovation Forum on “Transforming the Healthcare System in the 5G Era”.
Prof Chen expressed that hospitals will be the pioneer in this digital transformation of the healthcare industry. The 5G communication service will improve the healthcare quality, strengthen the link between healthcare providers and the public, and create a healthy life style based on smart technology.
Prof Chen explained that the world is facing the problems of an ageing population. Taiwan officially became an aged society in 2018. The forecast shows that the elderly will account for 20% of the total population in Taiwan by 2026. At present, 40% of the NHI resources are used by the elderly who account for 14% of the population. It is foreseeable that as the population is ageing, more healthcare resources will be needed.
New technology will help to reduce the waste of resources; and the development of AI will reduce the demand on manpower.
The TMUH has been using big data and AI to improve healthcare services. For example, the smart ICU system creates an SOP by pooling patients’ information so as to help the healthcare professionals to make well-informed timely decisions.
The 5G communication service will also improve the emergency services and long-distance care. For example, high speed data transmission will allow paramedics to send patients’ conditions, images and data to doctors before the ambulance reaches the hospital to create a kind of “just-in-time medical service”.
【2019-11-28 / Economic Daily】
