Health ministry unveils AI center project

Taipei, Oct. 7 (CNA) The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) has approved applications for subsidies from several hospitals to set up three types of artificial intelligence (AI) centers that promote the adoption of AI in health care institutions, it said Monday.

The ministry said in a statement that it will grant subsidies to 16 medical institutions to establish three types of AI centers -- responsible AI implementation centers, clinical AI verification centers, and AI impact research centers.

"This is an important milestone in Taiwan's smart medical care," Health and Welfare Minister Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said at a press conference Monday to promote the AI project.

At a time when Taiwan is facing a declining birthrate and an aging society, Chiu contended that smart medical care will deliver more advanced and reliable services, help solve medical manpower shortages, optimize long-term medical care policies, and sustain the national health insurance (NHI) system.

Chiu also said AI medical applications could help achieve the goal of net-zero emissions and maintain the international competitiveness of Taiwan's medical sector.

Lee Chien-chang (李建璋), the head of the MOHW's Department of Information Management, said promoting smart health care products is a global trend, but several hurdles remain in introducing AI applications to medical fields.

They include the lack of trust in AI systems among doctors and patients, the difficulty in obtaining data needed to certify AI products, and long time needed to assess AI-based clinical scientific methods to see if they should be reimbursed by the NHI system.

The MOHW has been helping hospitals in Taiwan establish the three different types of AI centers that have specific missions.

The role of the responsible AI implementation center is to set up management methods that comply with information security and privacy protection, according to Lee.

One way to achieve that, Lee said, is to disclose important information such as AI models, data and performance to improve AI transparency.

The establishment of clinical AI verification centers is aimed at solving the lengthy process of acquiring domestic medical AI software certificates, Lee said.

In the future, a hospital alliance will be formed which will enable AI product manufacturers to obtain one-stop services, so that verification of AI products can be accelerated, Lee said.

The AI impact research center would help domestic suppliers of AI-enabled medical devices have their AI tools and apps be covered by the NHI system and would make it easier for the National Health Insurance Administration to obtain data for its assessments, he said.

The ministry unveiled the subsidy plan on July 23 and held national training sessions in the following days.

Applications from 30 medical institutions were received by the application deadline of Aug. 1, and applications from 16 hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital, were approved, according to the MOHW statement.