Taiwan hospital launches cloud-based medical services

Cloud-based services in health care continued to gain momentum in Taiwan, after a hospital teamed up with a telecom giant there to offer a cloud-based service allowing patients to access medical records and get treatment advice via their mobile devices. Show Chwan Health Care System and telecom giant Chunghwa Telecom aim to help the hospital reduce costs while improving its efficiency, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported. The hospital will also develop smartphone applications that aim to keep patients updated on the latest medical advancements, the CNA report added. With the system, nurses who make hourly rounds on patients need not bring papers containing the patients’ records, but can instead use tablet computers to access such information. Even the patients can access their own medical records at home from an online database so they can monitor their own health. The move is expected to gain momentum next year when another telecom firm, Far Eastone Telecom Co., bared plans to launch a similar online database at participating hospitals. Far Eastone said it is working with five major hospitals to provide diabetes patients online services. Its system allows diabetes patients at the five hospitals to upload their latest blood sugar levels anywhere through Internet-connected devices, such that hospital staff can monitor their situation and give them appropriate medical advice. — TJD, GMA News