Taiwan's health insurance system a model for pandemic response: IHF(International Hospital Federation)

[SilentPanda]

Taiwan's integration of the country's electronic health records system with immigration data enabled its targeted response to COVID-19, the International Hospital Federation (IHF) said in a report that used Taiwan as a case study.

The report offered insights into how hospitals can embrace new ways of delivering health care while responding to the evolving coronavirus pandemic, and Taiwan's case was highlighted to show the importance of information sharing and access in achieving results.

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The strategy adopted by Taiwan's National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) to share information through MediCloud, its cloud databank, to control the pandemic was a key factor in Taiwan's success in capping COVID-19 outbreaks and deaths, the IHF said.

"Although the system was not initially designed to stop a pandemic, it was nimble enough to be reoriented toward one," said the report, published by the IHF Beyond COVID-19 Task Force on Dec. 17.

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To help the system identify potential cases, the NHIA installed COVID-19 risk indicators in the MediCloud system related to travel footprints, occupations, contacts and clusters.

By linking MediCloud, which provides health care providers and patients with real-time access to health records, with border entry and exit data uploaded from the National Immigration Agency, the NHIA created a centralized, real-time alert system for potential COVID-19 cases, according to the report.

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"These automatic system alerts allow health care providers to obtain patients' travel history, high-risk occupation, contact history, and clustering at mass gatherings in real-time, enabling a more efficient triage and accurate diagnosis of COVID-19," the report said.

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"This enhancement to the MediCloud system has been vital to Taiwan's precision testing strategy, which is efficient in testing a small but critical number of people, instead of mass testing."

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Taiwan's health insurance system a model for pandemic response: IHF - Focus Taiwan

Taipei, Dec. 25 (CNA) Taiwan's integration of the country's electronic health records system with immigration data enabled its targeted response to COVID-19, the International Hospital Federation (IHF) said in a report that used Taiwan as a case study.

focustaiwan.tw

 

[werezompire]

Just going to mention that while I was in Taiwan, I took a family member to a dentist after hours for a dental emergency and they charged us $70 USD and apologized that it was so expensive because we weren't citizens so we didn't have the free national health insurance.

 

[NetMapel]

Digitizing people's health records and making it a federal database definitely has its advantage when it comes to situations like this. Sometimes I feel like if I go see a new doctor, dentist, optometrist or whatever here in North America, they get my health record via faxes from my old doctors 😂

 

[nightstalker962]

Digitizing people's health records and making it a federal database definitely has its advantage when it comes to situations like this. Sometimes I feel like if I go see a new doctor, dentist, optometrist or whatever here in North America, they get my health record via faxes from my old doctors 😂

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For real, the fact they want shit faxed in 2020 pisses me off.

 

[Pet]

This would never work in the US because we don't want a social credit / big brother system /s.

Not having everything in one system has its downsides for sure. I have no issues with one system being able to access all my health records (which is why I'm really liking my HMO right now), but I don't see Americans in general being too happy about an "automatic system alerts allow health care providers to obtain patients' travel history, high-risk occupation, contact history, and clustering at mass gatherings in real-time" that "provides health care providers and patients with real-time access to health records, with border entry and exit data uploaded from the National Immigration Agency, the NHIA created a centralized, real-time alert system" and flags "risk indicators in the MediCloud system related to travel footprints, occupations, contacts and clusters."

 

[Sordid Plebeian]

They did a good job transferring over to single payer in the mid-90s as well if I recall correctly. Definitely a country to look to for some advice.

 

[NetMapel]

This would never work in the US because we don't want a social credit / big brother system /s.

Not having everything in one system has its downsides for sure. I have no issues with one system being able to access all my health records (which is why I'm really liking my HMO right now), but I don't see Americans in general being too happy about an "automatic system alerts allow health care providers to obtain patients' travel history, high-risk occupation, contact history, and clustering at mass gatherings in real-time" that "provides health care providers and patients with real-time access to health records, with border entry and exit data uploaded from the National Immigration Agency, the NHIA created a centralized, real-time alert system" and flags "risk indicators in the MediCloud system related to travel footprints, occupations, contacts and clusters."

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Not sure what you mean by "automatic system alerts". Healthcare practitioners can only access your health info with your healthcare card. You go see a doctor and insert the card into a designated system. It is ultimately a centralized system though which is the total opposite of the US' decentralized system.

 

[Kernel]

The only problem I have with such a system is your health records would be sold off to and data mined by 3rd parties and ultimately used against you.

 

[darkwing]

Just going to mention that while I was in Taiwan, I took a family member to a dentist after hours for a dental emergency and they charged us $70 USD and apologized that it was so expensive because we weren't citizens so we didn't have the free national health insurance.

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but socialism

 

[SilentPanda]

The only problem I have with such a system is your health records would be sold off to and data mined by 3rd parties and ultimately used against you.

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What do you mean by sell?
The hospital data is hospital, and the insurance is by the government and link to your insurance card run by the National Health Insurance Administration
And selling it without your approval would violate the PDPA( Personal Data Protection Act )

 

[purplemonkey111]

The only problem I have with such a system is your health records would be sold off to and data mined by 3rd parties and ultimately used against you.

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As opposed to the alternative?

Where people die of preventable disease or go bankrupt for medical emergencies?

As for people crying about socialism...US has already have it, except it's only for elected officials, and military.

 

[Pet]

Not sure what you mean by "automatic system alerts". Healthcare practitioners can only access your health info with your healthcare card. You go see a doctor and insert the card into a designated system. It is ultimately a centralized system though which is the total opposite of the US' decentralized system.

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Was literally quoting the article/OP.

 

[Shodan14]

Electronic health records are pretty handy, yeah.

 

[Particle Physicist]

The only problem I have with such a system is your health records would be sold off to and data mined by 3rd parties and ultimately used against you.

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there are laws in place that already make that illegal.