The Best Example of Telemedicine in Taiwan: Cheng Hsin General Hospital's Seamless Integration of Telecardiological Care with Conventional Care Brings Excellent Results with Precise Use of Medication

As technology continues to advance, human's pursuit of health has not let up. Therefore, two medical fields in which technology is often applied, smart healthcare and telemedicine, have become the central topic of the global healthcare industry. Telemedicine in Taiwan began in 1995, with the focus on remote areas and places lacking medical resources. The government began its pilot program in 2007, which gradually grew to cover major regions all over the country. The program focused on patients with chronic conditions.

The first telecardiological care service in Taiwan was introduced by Cheng Hsin General Hospital in 2006. At the time, cardiovascular diseases were on the rise, and people often complained of discomfort of unknown reasons. To better monitor symptoms in its preliminary stages and provide timely treatment, Cheng Hsin introduced its telecardiological care service, which reduces unnecessary patient visit to the hospital to preserve healthcare resources. The service later expanded to include patients with chronic conditions such as hypertension and diabetes to its scope of service. Over the past 11 years, it has served over 5000 people with ages ranging from 7 to 92.

Cheng Hsin General Hospital's Telecare Services Center is the oldest such center in Taiwan. It provides the most comprehensive care for patients with cardiac or chronic diseases and has the most successful business model. The Center's accomplishments include: (a) early detection of threats to health, elucidating the cause of diseases, and increasing patient compliance rate, (b) increasing blood pressure control rate to over 80%, improving blood pressure fluctuation, and normalizing daily blood pressure fluctuations, and (c) improving blood glucose, blood lipid, and blood pressure levels through an exercise and diet plan. The primary features are as follows:

1. Led by a cardiology team, the Center conducts outpatient consultation, treatment, monitoring, and tracking to transition seamlessly and achieve a more precise integrated care, improving the quality of care and medication use.
2. Long-term monitoring and analysis of data trends allow precise prescription of medication. By assessing medication compliance and improving drug education through pharmacist consultation, medication compliance can be improved, and superfluous medication can be avoided. 
3. Increased diet and exercise interventions with preventative medicine in mind. The frontline staff has experience in clinical care, with service available 24/7. Customized care programs are also available. 

In recent years, the issue of long-term care has gradually garnered attention. Telemedicine is an important link in a comprehensive long-term care system. It can fill in where conventional medicine ends while providing quality care using limited manpower by leveraging information systems.

Currently this service is for domestic and international patients with heart discomfort, cardiac disease, hypertension, or diabetes and wish to have a medical team monitor and evaluate their status to prevent the sudden onset of symptoms. For details, please contact the International Service Center. 

(Editing by Nicole Yang, Research Center for Biotechnology and Medicine Policy)
 

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