To align with the international trends in smart healthcare development, Taichung Veterans General Hospital is strengthening the integration of medical information systems with medical, administrative, and management operations. Emphasizing patient-centric healthcare, the hospital aims to enhance future predictive analytics capabilities and ensure corporate governance and employee care to achieve sustainable operational performance. Participating in the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Digital Health Indicator (DHI) evaluation, Taichung Veterans General Hospital has been honored as the second-best globally, marking the first public hospital in Taiwan to achieve such recognition.

     The evaluation process of the HIMSS Digital Health Indicator (DHI) by the American HIMSS Association assesses the degree of digitalization reform in hospitals through four dimensions and visits to six major stakeholders. During this evaluation, each unit fully demonstrated teamwork and cooperation in the four dimensions, including "Interoperability," "Person-Enabled Health," "Predictive Analytics," and "Governance & Workforce," totaling over 120 assessment items. Taichung Veterans General Hospital achieved outstanding scores of 100 points in each dimension. In the visits to the six major stakeholders, including Department of Nursing, Center of Quality Management, Smart Healthcare Committee, and Computer & Communications Center, Taichung Veterans General Hospital, with collaborative efforts, demonstrated world-leading standards in clinical care support, digital transformation, public safety and satisfaction care, and information technology development and application.

     Taichung Veterans General Hospital has developed a clinical decision support system based on patient data, providing patients and their families with comprehensive digital assistance tools. Through the Taichung Veterans General Hospital application, individuals can access personalized health care and educational management. Additionally, patient self-reported data during registration are directly presented in the medical order system, enhancing real-time communication between medical professionals and patients.

     The hospital has implemented a comprehensive dashboard and integrated it into medical operations such as hospital management and patient services. Various artificial intelligence prediction modules are applied in outpatient, inpatient, and intensive care settings to visualize patient conditions and predict disease progression. Collaborating with other medical centers, the hospital employs federated learning without data storage.

Telemedicine is facilitated through multiple digital technology applications, allowing patients to participate in health activities and seek for assistance in rural areas in emergencies. Secure data exchange is established among health authorities, medical institutions, and suppliers to foster partnerships.

     Structured reporting systems and rapid integration of medical records from other hospitals into the hospital information system are ensured. To enhance staff capabilities and expand international perspectives, support is provided for staff participation in international conferences and exchange activities.

     These efforts aim to promote the development of digital smart healthcare and maintain public health, contributing to the overarching goal of advancing digitalization in healthcare and safeguarding public health.

     Superintendent Shih-Ann Chen stated that Taichung Veterans General Hospital not only achieved consecutive certifications of HIMSS Stage 6 and the highest level Stage 7 within 8 months in 2023, making it the fastest nationally recognized medical center in Taiwan to pass these evaluations, but also achieved the impressive ranking of second place globally in the HIMSS Association's DHI assessment this year. Additionally, Taichung Veterans General Hospital is the only hospital in Taiwan to have been listed in the top 300 world’s best smart hospitals globally ranked by Newsweek magazine in 2023 and 2024, further affirming its digital healthcare system achievements on a global scale.

     The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) was founded in 1961 and has a history of over 60 years. It is a globally-oriented advisory nonprofit organization with institutional and individual members spanning across North America, Europe, the UK, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific region. HIMSS boasts over 120,000 individual members, more than 430 healthcare institutions, over 500 nonprofit organizations, and over 550 healthcare service organizations.

     Taichung Veterans General Hospital will continue to utilize information and communication technology to improve the processes of workflow, utilize artificial intelligence to alleviate repetitive tasks in healthcare, enhance medical quality and efficiency, and ensure patients’ safety. In the future, the hospital will strive to share Taiwan's advancements in medical information technology with international counterparts and pursue more international cooperation opportunities.