Premier Su Tseng-chang on Thursday touted the strength of Taiwan's medical care information industry and the use of big data analytics in the National Health Insurance (NHI) system. Describing digital health as the future of patient care, the premier instructed the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) to work with the Ministry of Science and Technology to build a model of public-private collaboration that will aid the growth of the smart health care industry. Laws and regulations governing the use of medical data, however, must be respected to protect patient privacy.
The premier's remarks were made following a briefing by the MOHW on the applications of NHI data.
The NHI system has over many years accumulated a large database of de-identified medical records that now serves as Taiwan's greatest advantage for the development of cloud technologies, big data analytics and medical artificial intelligence (AI). This year, the NHI Administration released medical images from its database as part of a pilot program for AI applications. Building on the foundation of the NHI's big data and cloud-based medical technologies, these applications will secure a leading position for Taiwan in biotechnology and health care, promote AI-based precision medicine, and improve the quality of health care services, the premier said.
The high quality, high standards and easy accessibility of Taiwan's health care under the NHI program have been recognized around the world, Premier Su continued. In 2019, online business magazine CEOWORLD gave Taiwan the top ranking in its Health Care Index survey of 89 countries. Furthermore, over 85 percent of Taiwan's public have expressed satisfaction with services provided under the NHI.