HIMSS and Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Administration Form Agreement to Drive Digital Transformation Through International Collaboration

HIMSS and the National Health Insurance Administration, an agency under the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Taiwan, have formed an agreement to drive digital transformation in population health, digital capacity building, cybersecurity resilience and workforce development.

HIMSS President & CEO Hal Wolf and NHIA Director General Chung-Liang Shih signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Nov. 13, 2023, in Taipei City, Taiwan, in a ceremony attended by key hospital executives and government officials.

“Digital health adoption is a vital step for Taiwan’s healthcare system to improve health equity and patient outcomes,” said Hal Wolf, HIMSS President & CEO. “Through this partnership, the NHIA and HIMSS are demonstrating an ongoing commitment to increase patient access, better protect patient data and train the health workforce of the future. Together, HIMSS and the NHIA will help transform healthcare in Taiwan.”

Population Health

HIMSS and the NHIA will collaborate to transform Taiwan’s healthcare from the traditional disease management system of today into the post-pandemic health system of tomorrow — modernized to align with the needs of the populations that health systems serve.

Digital health ecosystems offer a strategy to realize the full health potential of every human everywhere. They identify and track progress toward health goals; track outcomes and health risks at the individual and population levels; and inform care approaches that are personalized to people and populations and are focused on mitigating risks to support and sustain health and wellness. The rate of adoption and scalability of digital health influences the sustainability of healthcare systems and the health of global populations.

Digital Capacity Building

This collaboration will develop a digital health ecosystem through an evidence-driven approach that is based on HIMSS digital capacity and maturity frameworks. This provides a quantified understanding of the current state and priorities at the country, health system and provider levels and helps refine priorities maximizing population health outcomes.

The HIMSS Digital Health Indicator provides a framework to guide health system transformation that enables people and populations to stay well, leveraging digital technologies to redesign how care is delivered and how value is achieved. The Digital Health Indicator is supported in specific areas of digital health adoption by the HIMSS maturity models: Electronic Medical Record (EMRAM); Community Care Outcomes (CCOMM); Digital Imaging (DIAM); Analytics (AMAM); Infrastructure (INFRAM); and Continuity of Care (CCMM). 

Cybersecurity Resilience

This collaboration will strengthen Taiwan’s cybersecurity resilience, with the support of HIMSS subject matter experts, thought leadership and advice.

The NHIA will leverage the deep technical skills of the HIMSS global analytics team, government relations team and cybersecurity partners to assist with the proactive management of risks associated with systems and data. Subject matter experts will be supported by the Digital Health Indicator and the maturity model frameworks to prioritize investments and management of risk.

Workforce Development

Through curated courses, professional certifications and accredited continuing education from world-class healthcare professionals, HIMSS and the NHIA will collaborate to build digital health workforce capacity to support a digital health ecosystem and achieve the Quintuple Aims of healthcare.

These localized and targeted workforce capacity building programs will upskill the nation’s healthcare workforce to thrive in a digital health ecosystem.

View the HIMSS and Taiwan MOU press release.