Chiayi County Integrates Care Platform to Break Through Current "Home-Based Acute Care" Bottlenecks

(CNA reporter Tsai Chih-ming Chiayi County June 18) The "Chiayi County Decentralized Medical Integrated Care Platform" was unveiled today, connecting four major core hospitals including Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, along with 18 township and city health centers and primary care clinics. This initiative combines technology with home-based medical care, breaking through the current bottlenecks in "home-based acute care."

In response to the national "Health Taiwan Deep Cultivation Plan" and actively addressing the healthcare workforce shortage in the current environment, the Chiayi County Medical Association held the "Chiayi County Decentralized Medical Integrated Care Platform" construction launch event today at the Chiayi County Human Resources Development Center.

Connecting four major core hospitals, including Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Chiayi Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare Puzi Hospital, and Taichung Veterans General Hospital Wanqiao Branch, along with 18 township and city health centers and primary care clinics, signifies Chiayi County's official entry into a new milestone of cross-institutional care that combines technology with local medical services.

Lai Ning-sheng, Chairman of the Chiayi County Medical Association and Superintendent of Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, told CNA in an interview that this project aims to break through the execution bottlenecks of current "home-based acute care" and establish a more flexible new care model. It also empowers primary care clinics with more functions, allowing elderly patients with mobility issues to receive medical care nearby, and enabling patients unwilling to be hospitalized to stay at home with peace of mind, receiving treatment directly at community clinics or local health centers, saving both money and time.

Lai Ning-sheng stated that through a "decentralized" strategy, the platform appropriately diverts mild and stable patients from large hospitals to nearby primary care clinics or health centers for continued treatment. For example, osteomyelitis patients who require 6 to 8 weeks of antibiotic injections.

He emphasized that this not only prevents patients from occupying hospital beds for extended periods for injections, allowing major hospitals to focus their nursing staff on critical care; it also resolves the current predicament of home-based acute care (ACAH) medical personnel needing to stay at patients' homes for extended periods.

Zhao Wen-hua, Director of the Chiayi County Health Bureau, also attended the launch event today. She said that this year is the first year of the project's implementation, requiring more time to build the platform and purchase equipment. However, she hopes that through this launch event, more primary care clinics will be encouraged to join successively, jointly building a dense support network of "support in Chiayi, support arriving in Chiayi."