Since the implementation of NHI, health care for the people living Taiwan has become ever more accessible. Medical institutions and pharmacies can be found in cities and towns throughout Taiwan. Nevertheless, residents living in mountainous areas or outlying islands appear to be in a difficult situation to access medical treatment. The NHIA has fully implemented the Integrated Delivery System (IDS) since 1999, aiming to achieve healthcare equality, meet the medical needs of local residents in mountainous areas and outlying islands, and improve the accessibility of health care. At present, about 480,000 people in mountainous areas and outlying island areas of Taiwan, accounting for 29 mountain townships and 21 outlying island townships, have all been included in the NHI IDS program. In 2021, a total of 26 hospitals (including 7 medical centers, 14 regional hospitals, and 5 district hospitals) participated in the program, and they formed teams with local public health centers and clinics to take care of local residents.
To enhance and improve the accessibility of health care in remote areas, the NHIA and Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital jointly held the demonstrations of healthcare delivery at mountainous areas, outlying islands, and remote villages and 20th anniversary celebration of Linkou Cheng Gung Memorial Hospital undertaking IDS in the Fuxing District of Taoyuan City on August 5. The organizers invited the IDS team to share the implementations of the holistic integrated care in mountainous areas and outlying islands.
For example, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and St. Paul's Hospital jointly established the Hualing Integrated Healthcare Station at the rear mountain area of Fuxing District, Taoyuan City, to build a continuous health care system and safeguard the rights of patients to access health care in remote areas. The station’s annual service volume exceeds 10,000 visits, the number of emergency patients comes to 600 visits, and the service satisfaction rate exceeds 95%.
Director General Lee further stated that the NHIA has been implementing the NHI Telemedicine Coverage Plan since 2021 in order to improve accessibility of specialist outpatient services for people in remote areas. The plan encourages healthcare providers to provide video consultations of ophthalmology, ENT, dermatology and emergency services in mountainous areas, outlying islands, and remote areas totaling 60 townships throughout Taiwan. In the future, video consultations in mountainous areas and outlying islands will include cardiology, gastroenterology, neurology, and thoracic departments, and the applied fields will also be expanded to the integrated home health care. These measures integrated with the IDS all aim to enhance telemedicine in mountainous areas and outlying islands, easing difficulties for residents in remote areas to access specialist services.