Taiwan’s Telehealth Sector Offers Opportunities for U.S. Solutions
Taiwan has set the development of telehealth services (provision of remote care) as a top healthcare policy goal. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the implementation of new regulatory policies to foster telehealth, including expansion of coverage, service, and payments.
In 2021, the Taiwan Ministry of Health & Welfare (MOHW) revised Taiwan’s nationalized health insurance program to include coverage for telemedicine outpatient consultations in ophthalmology, otolaryngology, dermatology, and emergency care for individuals in remote areas.
Taiwan regulation of telemedicine has evolved considerably since 1986, when it was mandated that doctors must only provide in-person consultations. However, in more recent years, factors such as an aging society, a shortage of caregiving, and Taiwan’s challenging topography (mountainous areas, outlying islands, and remote areas) led to changing attitudes and a robust telehealth sector emerged.
The MOHW aims to develop a connected medical care system linking hospitals, primary-care medical facilities, long-term care centers, and other caregiving institutions, to offsite patients to provide remote consultations, remote care, and remote pharmacy services.
Taiwan’s elderly population (aged 65 or above) reached nearly 15% of its approximately 24 million inhabitants in 2019. Further, the percentage of the population defined as elderly is expected to reach 20% by 2026, which will make Taiwan one of the world’s first “super-aged societies”. Taiwan’s telehealth industry has focused on elder care and chronic disease management. Many companies are developing solutions for remote monitoring systems that send data via internet to provide real-time monitoring of at-home patients, allowing care facility-based physicians to provide timely advice.
Taiwan is one of the world’s leading producers of ICT technology products and electronic hardware, hence domestic companies are able to provide the hardware for telehealth solutions. However, Taiwan seeks software and data solutions to make emerging telehealth solutions fully viable.
U.S. companies have opportunities in specialized software and services which can integrate with Taiwan-made hardware to provide solutions and applications for smart hospitals and mobile health.
Three areas of need and growing demand include: 1) Edge computing — data analysis that takes place on a medical device in real-time, such as wearable devices that monitor cardiac activity; 2) Mobile healthcare tools, including remote diagnosis and treatment that include immediate data sharing for treatment by healthcare providers; and 3) Solutions used in smart home systems for elder care.
For additional information, the U.S. Commercial Service in Taiwan, Grace Tao (Grace.Tao@trade.gov)