Countries around the world have taken various preventative approaches in response to the COVID-19 threat. Currently, Thailand and Taiwan both are regarded as models of success in the prevention and control of COVID-19 by the global community. The Webinar on 16 December, 2020, with support and assistance from the H. E. Ambassador Dr. Ying-Yuan Lee, was able to invite Ms. Wilailuk Wisasa, the Acting Director of Bureau of International Affairs for Universal Health Coverage of Thailand National Health Security Office (NHSO), to share on how Thailand’s health insurance system has been dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. From the Taiwanese side, in addition to the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) sharing its pandemic prevention policies, Dr. Jung-Hsien Chiang, the CEO of National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) Hospital Health Data Center, also shared their experiences on how medical institutions apply AI technology to add further value to pandemic prevention. The online audience from academia and medical institutions also joined the Webinar, gaining fruitful exchanges.
Taiwan Health Insurance System is World Renowned, High-tech Pandemic Prevention Receives International Recognition
Taiwan has implemented National Health Insurance for more than 25 years since 1995, providing comprehensive healthcare for all residents living in Taiwan. It is also well known across the globe for its universal presence, convenience, economy, and high satisfaction from the general public. In order to continuously improve the quality of medical care, the NHIA persists to promote and introduce various medical technologies.
The NHIA Director General Po-Chang Lee stated that as the COVID-19 pandemic started in early 2020, the NHIA showed organizational resiliency, enhanced the NHI MediCloud System functions with people's travel history, occupation, contact and cluster history (TOCC). Representing Taiwan, the NHIA won the Special Award for Resiliency at the 2020 IDC DX Award with its project the MediCloud System to Combat COVID-19. Taiwan’s achievements in pandemic prevention have received international recognition, and presented a new paradigm that other countries can learn from this time of the pandemic.
Continual Promotion and Exchange to Demonstrate Taiwan’s Soft Power in Medicine and Public health
Director General Lee stated that the NHIA follows the government’s New Southbound policy, and having considered the intense interest and enthusiasm from the new southbound countries on Taiwan’s National Health Insurance system and experience in setting up medical and healthcare data, the NHIA held the workshops in both Vietnam and the Philippines in 2019. The events generated meaningful exchanges and created new opportunities for further dialogue between Taiwan’s and new southbound countries’ medical and public health sectors. With the COVID-19 outbreak this year, physical exchanges were not viable. To continue the bilateral exchange with these countries, the NHIA opted to hold webinars instead.
Director General Lee also expressed that the valuable experiences the Taiwanese National Health Insurance system has gained over the years, particularly in the establishment of medical and healthcare data and the application of information technology, has always been a point of interest that other countries want to learn about. It is hoped that it could continue to promote the exchanges with new southbound countries, and demonstrate Taiwan’s soft power in medicine and public health.