Advancing the medical care system in remote and offshore areas is an important policy of the government, Premier Mao Chi-kuo reiterated at the Cabinet meeting today.
After a briefing by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) on the integrated health care system in remote areas and offshore islands, the premier tasked the MOHW to continue to collaborate with related ministries and agencies and to incorporate private-sector medical resources so that residents of these areas can enjoy good-quality medical and health care services.
In order to institute an integrated medical care network in remote areas, the MOHW has overcome geographical constraints, greatly enhanced the areas' medical efficacy and quality, and created modernized medical environments, thus reducing the time local residents must spend and the distance they must travel to receive medical services. The ministry's efforts deserve commendation, the premier said.
With the goal of localizing medical services, the ministry has adopted five major strategies:
- Augmenting local medical facilities: A new medical building was opened at Lienchiang County Hospital in 2011 and a new general hospital building at Kinmen Hospital in 2014.
- Enabling patients to receive care in their hometowns by moving medical personnel via mobile health care services as well as logistical support from academic medical centers.
- Fostering and training local medical personnel in order to offer sustainable medical services in these areas.
- Establishing acute and emergency medical networks as well as aeromedical transport and referral services.
- Digitizing medical information and setting up relevant cloud databases.
Meanwhile, the MOHW is enhancing remote and offshore areas' preventative health care and health promotion networks. It is also deploying long-term care resources; thanks to government deployment of such resources, one daycare center is expected to be established in each of the 368 villages and townships nationwide by the end of 2016, the MOHW pointed out. To date 188 multipurpose daycare centers have already been completed, and 28 remote villages and townships have a community service station for dementia patients. By the end of this year, the administration aims to complete at least one general service station in each of the 89 remote and offshore areas where resources are insufficient.