In the past, information technology (IT) departments tended to focus on building an information system to assist all other departments in managing their operations and emphasizing the integrity of their functions. Yet the vast expansion of data has changed the rules. To achieve one’s goals intelligently now requires knowing how to make good use of internal and external data by increasing their usability, and by combining them with appropriate new technologies (such as big data and artificial intelligence) to create higher value.
As our agency’s goal is “smarter health and welfare information,” the following summary of implementation results and future plans is organized in terms of hardware, security and software.
Hardware
The computer room at the Ministry of Health and Welfare is a green-energy cloud-based data center with low energy consumption; it continuously manages multiple computers, systems and network resources without interruption. The computer room uses virtualized co-construction services to reduce space usage, enabling effective application of system resources and managing various information systems through automation.
Security
Our department has received ISO 27001 certification and coordinates its tasks with 64 MOHW critical infrastructure projects approved by the Executive Yuan in 2018. These include first-response hospitals for severe emergencies, MOHW-affiliated hospitals and epidemic response hospitals. Related tasks are:
- Completing the online Healthcare Information Sharing and Analysis Center (H-ISAC) (41 hospitals included)
- Completing the inclusion of all Critical Infrastructures (CIs) under charge into H-ISAC by 2019, setting up computer emergency response team in CI areas, and establishing a CI-area information security monitoring center by the end of 2020
Software (Operation Informatization)
Smarter Health Care and Medical Services: The Medical Cloud
The National Electronic Medical Records Exchange Center allows hospitals to access information from other medical institutions. It also offers complete interfacing for aeromedical referrals with the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control and remote islands. And it continues to extend its electronic medical records (EMR) exchange standards to be compatible with those of medical institutions.
It is expected that the number of My Health Bank users will reach one million in 2018. Self-funded health examination information and administrator functions will be expanded in the future. The NHI medical information cloud-based query system allows hospitals to share 20 categories of examinations (tests), with an estimated saving of NT$1.2 billion for the second half of 2017. Future planning will provide active prompts to reduce physician time.
Long-Term Care, Wellness and Epidemic Prevention Clouds
The informatization of long-term care (LTC) 2.0 has helped local governments and service providers improve their information operations. Current tasks include the development of mobile versions of evaluation tools for LTC cases, integrative management of contract agency and personnel, cost reviews and allocation expansion. Future plans include the 1966 customer service and LTC data warehousing systems for integration and service quality.
With regard to the Wellness Cloud, the Empower My Health website and app have been completed and provide preventive health care resources. In the future, website structure and screenshot design will orient to user needs; planning also is under way to merge Empower My Health and My Health Bank by the end of 2019 to provide better services.
The Epidemic Prevention Cloud has enhanced its data processing efficiency by applying cloud-based big data analysis, improving the timeliness of epidemic prevention and potential advance warning functions. It will continue to expand automatic notification of infectious diseases and analyses of monitoring data.
Application of Social Welfare Information
A one-stop digital service system has been set up to provide multiple services such as home-based services, over-the-counter services and online applications. This system’s 47 service items have benefited more than 140,000 disadvantaged people and shortened service time from 45 days to 7 days. In the future, the system will expand to offer more social welfare services.
Smart social welfare internet
Assistance will be given to social welfare centers in local governments to carry out informatization, to build a social welfare net with complex data, and to support case prevention, integrated services, one-stop counters and personal information protection. This system integrates anti-drug operation information and optimizes the infrastructure of the social welfare net.