The healthcare system is to analyze patient records and family histories using artificial intelligence (AI) to estimate the risk of developing diabetes or hyperlipidemia and improve early diagnoses, National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said in an interview published yesterday.
The government has launched the Home-based Acute Care Program within two months after the inauguration of President William Lai’s (賴清德), in line with his “Healthy Taiwan” policy.
The NHIA has collaborated with Google to use AI to analyze healthcare big data, such as physical examinations, patient records and family histories, Shih said in an interview with the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times).
Photo: Chang Chia-juei, Taipei Times
It would help grade the risks of different chronic diseases and predict morbidity rates of stroke or myocardial infarction in the following three to five years, he said.
The “Healthy Taiwan” policy also provides “hospitalization at home” for patients with acute infections, which Lai said would mark a milestone in Taiwan’s history of medicine, Shih said.
Home-based medical services would be used to focus on critical care cases, of which 25 to 30 percent would require hospitalization due to acute infections, Shih said, adding that elderly people living in long-term care facilities are facing similar situations.
The program is to respond to the needs of patients with acute conditions starting from this month, which has long been missing in home care and facility care, he said.
For example, nurses and doctors could visit patients at home or the facility to administer antibiotics when they have pneumonia or infections in their urinary tract or soft tissue, Shih said.
That would reduce the cross infection risk in hospitals and free up beds for other patients in need, thereby avoiding a medical system collapse due to epidemics, he said.
Shih also said the new version of the Rules of Medical Diagnosis and Treatment by Telecommunications (通訊診察治療辦法), which has been implemented from this month, would facilitate home-based acute care, as they have loosened restrictions on applicable users and prescriptions.
Patients’ vital signs could be transmitted to medical facilities via technologies such as wearable devices and smart mattresses for 24/7 monitoring, even though medical practitioners cannot provide bedside services at home, he said, adding that telemedical diagnosis performed by doctors and home visits by nurses would ensure satisfactory services for patients.
In addition to acute care, chronic care has been reinforced as well to include the 5.4 million patients with chronic diseases in Taiwan.
Eighty percent of people aged 65 or older in Taiwan have at least one chronic disease, with diabetes, chronic kidney disease, ischemic heart disease and stroke collectively accounting for about 20 percent, the largest proportion, Shih said, adding that what these chronic diseases have in common are “three highs” — high blood pressure, high blood lipids and high blood sugar.
The government has initiated the “888 project” to include at least 80 percent of people with three highs in the project, while providing them with consultations on their life habits and controlling 80 percent of their three high conditions, he said.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
RSS