Over 3,000 home healthcare teams will join the pilot plan for the virtual NHI card this year. Patients can present a QR code generated by the NHI APP for home health care.

    The virtual NHI card pilot plan is used for telemedicine, home health care, and video consultations for outpatient services. If the healthcare providers have joined this pilot plan and established facilities, they can also accept a virtual NHI card to conduct the process.

    As for patients, people login the NHI APP with their ID number and password for authentication, upload their consent to submit their personal information and photo, and then they immediately get the virtual NHI card on their smartphone. Healthcare providers scan this QR code just as they insert a physical NHI card into a card reader. If patients use their virtual NHI card for a medical visit, they are advised to check with their healthcare provider if a virtual NHI card is accepted and it would be better to call them for confirmation before paying a visit.

    To lower the digital barriers, people can authorize their virtual NHI card to their family folks. Further, in order to help those without a smartphone and those with difficulties to use a smartphone, people may bind several family member’s virtual NHI cards onto one phone. Meanwhile, one person’s virtual NHI card can be bound to several different family members’ smartphones in order to avoid the hassle of passing an NHI card among the family.

Date: January 7, 2022