Taiwan needs to learn from other countries to develop telehealth services: Minister

• By Lee I-chia / Staff Reporter

Taiwan should learn from other countries how to develop telehealth services in the post-COVID-19 era, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said yesterday.

Chiu made the remarks at a conference in Taipei titled “Current Challenges and Opportunities in Telehealth,” organized by the Forum of National Health Research Institutes (NHRI), Taipei Medical University and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.

In his opening remarks, Chiu discussed the concept of “social prescribing,” encouraging healthcare professionals to view patients through the lens of professional medicine and refer them to a range of person-centered non-clinical care services to support their health and well-being.

Photo: CNA

Chiu said that since he became director of the public health center in 1988, he began overseeing telehealth and hospice care operations.

His experience working with people in hospice care showed him the importance of person-centered care and that patients are connected to the community, he said.

Person-centered care services and telemedicine have played an important role during the Covid-19 pandemic around the world, and in the post-pandemic era, many countries are pushing to expand telehealth services, Chiu said.

While different countries have different opinions on the quality, regulation, ethics and privacy of telehealth services, it has become a common challenge for many health care systems around the world, he said.

Taiwan should continue to learn from and communicate with other countries to improve its telehealth services, he said.

In the post-COVID-19 era, telemedicine still faces challenges such as health care quality monitoring, patient privacy security, regulation and regulatory review, but after some experience in July, the scope of telemedicine has been expanded, NHRI Forum Vice Chairman Wayne Sheu (許惠恒) said .

Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Taipei Medical University Chen Ray-jade (陳瑞杰) said telemedicine did not disappear after the COVID-19 pandemic ended, but has evolved into telehealth and is shifting the focus from acute care to chronic care services.

Telehealth focuses on individuals or families, so if a comprehensive telehealth system is in place, in the event of a natural disaster or pandemic, people will still be able to receive health care at home, embodying a “resilient health care system,” Chen said.

However, telemedicine in the post-Covid-19 era faces four main challenges: regulations, payment systems, technology and personal data security, he added.

The conference was organized for people from the private and government sectors, scientists and health care providers to discuss solutions, he said.

Telehealth can also be expanded beyond treatment to include health education, holistic health care and weight management, and even enable people to participate in clinical trials at home, he added.

Additional CNA reporting