The “Global Impact of Digital Health Technology” high-level forum was held on July 18 at the global headquarters of STUF United Fund on Manhattan’s 2nd Avenue. The event was co-hosted by STUF United Fund and Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Foundation (Taiwan ICDF), with a focus on how artificial intelligence (AI) can enhance the efficiency of public health management and sharing Taiwan’s experience in developing and promoting healthcare information systems.
Inviting four experts to share insights on related topics, the forum featured Dr. Padmini Murthy, Professor of Health Policy and Management at the New York Medical College, Dr. Chen Liangyu, Deputy Director of the Health Insurance Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare in Taiwan, Ms. Hannah Cooper Klein, Co-founder and CEO of Cooper/Smith, and Tony Wu, Project Manager of the HIS Project in Paraguay under Taiwan ICDF.
During the forum, Tony Wu mentioned in an interview that since 2016, he has been in Paraguay implementing the “Health Information System Enhancement Project” in collaboration with Taiwan, assisting in establishing comprehensive public hospital outpatient, emergency, and inpatient information platforms to strengthen local hospital management capabilities.
The HIS Project was initially developed in collaboration with Taiwan’s Cathay General Hospital. The system was entirely independently developed by a Taiwanese team, using open-source programming language and databases to save licensing costs. Healthcare professionals can utilize automation in registration, consultations, medication, and statistical reporting, as well as fully integrate patient medical records, significantly improving data accessibility and reducing human errors from paper-based records (such as prescription misinterpretations), effectively reducing patient waiting times.
Aside from implementation in Paraguay, the project is also expanding to Somaliland in Africa. Since 2016, the healthcare information management system currently covers over 1,000 medical facilities and processes approximately 1.5 million patients monthly.
The healthcare information management system has shown significant effectiveness, such as swift access to medical records and statistical data for healthcare professionals; real-time report generation to enhance administrative efficiency; and decreased human errors and management blind spots. During the implementation process, importance was placed on “change management” and “continuous optimization.” For instance, senior administrative staff accustomed to paper-based operations require education, training, and communication coordination.
Lin Ziming, Director and CEO of STUF United Fund, emphasized in his speech that the forum’s theme directly aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3, “Good Health and Well-being.” He stressed that AI technology has become a global focal point, particularly in its immense potential applications in the medical field. Leveraging Taiwan’s global leadership in AI and chip manufacturing, he hopes that through concrete collaboration cases with Paraguay and African countries, technological diplomacy and innovative humanitarian aid can elevate global public health standards.