Sharing universal health insurance development experiences

At the workshop, Dr. Shu-Ling Tsai, Deputy Director-General of the Heath Insurance Administration and professors of Taipei Medical University said Taiwan’s universal health insurance and electronic medicine cloud technology - MediCloud are highly appreciated by many experts.

In particular, during the 72th World Health Assembly (WHA) held in May this year, electronic medicine cloud technology, health records and image exchange among hospitals in Taiwan attracted the attention of many countries. 

Mr. Dang Hong Nam, Deputy Director of the Health Insurance Department under the Vietnamese Ministry of Health, said that Taiwan's health insurance is very comprehensive, all transactions are carried out with electronic health insurance cards and standardized information technology, patient data and information are kept confidential and secured, all displayed on each person's ID code.

Accordingly, daily medical examination and treatment activities will be reported accurately, avoiding duplication of benefits, overlapping or errors. The use of electronic cloud technology and information communication among related units, hospitals and institutions also contribute to increasing the quality of treatment, reducing unnecessary costs for patients. Since then there is more funding for investment in technology and human resources development in the healthcare system.

Another experience shared at the workshop was the establishment of a mechanism to monitor medical examination and treatment and payment of medical examination and treatment costs, and to ensure objectivity and transparency between the payer and the service provider.

Also at the workshop, the delegation of the Health Insurance Administration briefed experiences in running Taiwan’s health insurance program and in setting up the MediCloud system.

In Viet Nam, the Ministry of Health plans to establish a personal health database for the entire population by 2025, thus external experiences will serve as inputs for the country to develop a proper health insurance system in line with its current economic conditions./.

By Hoang Ha