Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital

In domains including clinical medicine, patient care, teaching, research, and hospital administration, we actively utilize information systems to achieve electronic medical records, paperless operations, and process automation.

Regarding clinical information systems, we have integrated disease management, smart patient monitoring, electronic surgical consent, telemedicine systems and clinical research databases. These integrations aim to digitize records, improve efficiency, increase healthcare accessibility and promote precision medicine. To enhance medication safety, we have deployed intelligent management systems for controlled substances and electronic prescribing.

In the field of patient care, we have realized patient self-determination, mobile nursing operations, and electronic medical records, allowing patients to understand their medical status and improve their experience. We have also developed home care and chronic disease prevention systems, combined with telemedicine to provide continuous care for residents in homes and rural areas.

Regarding educational research, we have established a comprehensive education platform and electronic teaching management system to provide digital learning resources and automated operations, improving teaching quality. We have also developed intelligent analysis systems for medical imaging and clinical data , fostering advancements in research.

Concerning hospital administration, we have implemented smart financial, human resources, and performance management systems for efficient resource allocation and decision management. We have also introduced a smart pandemic prevention system to enhance epidemic response efficiency. 

The following sections will elaborate on measures taken by our hospital across 9 different aspects.

President's Mail：To enhance communication and interaction with the public, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital has set up a "President's Mail" service. Through this convenient platform, patient can directly share their valuable opinions or inquire about medical-related issues directly with the hospital president.

The operation mode of the "President's Mail" is quite simple and effective. Patient only need to write directly to the president in the provided form, and the system will automatically dispatch it to the relevant department for processing. For each letter, it is necessary to include the patient's real name and contact information, the hospital will respond with an official written reply. During normal office hours, patient letters will be received by dedicated personnel and immediately processed. Patients will also receive an email notification upon receipt of letter. Processing duration is approximately 14 working days; should a response not receive within this timeframe, patients can track the progress through the inquiry function.

To help the public fully understand the operation of the "President's Mail," the hospital website has also provided detailed information on the operational process, precautions, and usage guidelines. We sincerely hope that this service can help establish a closer connection between the public and the hospital, offering a rapid avenue for communication. If patient have any questions or suggestions, they are encouraged to contact us freely.

Obtaining medical record copies: Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital enables patients or their legal representatives to obtain medical imaging and pathology reports through established procedures. Individuals can request specific examinations such as X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and nuclear medicine studies from designated periods. The requested data is organized departmentally and provided on CDs.

Applications require identification and proof of legal relationship. Legal guardians are required to apply on behalf of minors, while third-party requests need authorization. To safeguard privacy, the hospital thoroughly verifies applicants' identities and relationships to patients. Once approved, individuals can collect documents in person, authorize others for pickup, or opt for mail delivery by paying postage. Summarized Chinese records are available. 

The hospital's protocols strike a balance between patient access rights and privacy obligations, allowing convenient and secure acquisition of personal medical information for both treatment or administrative purposes.

VisualHealth: Multimedia Health Assessment Report：This is an innovative approach that integrates artificial intelligence technology with personalized health management. Traditional health screening reports, presented in text and numerical formats, pose challenges for individuals with limited literacy or understanding medical jargon. The AI-enabled multimedia health report, however, employs visuals and audio to explain screening results to the public in a more vivid and intuitive manner.

The service workflow starts by integrating personal screening data into a standardized platform for processing and transmission. Then, an AI system automatically identifies key information and generates a personalized audiovisual report. This report not only contains examination findings but also incorporates disease information, health education, and recommendations for future health management, providing a one-stop health information service.

Most importantly, the AI-enabled multimedia report significantly enhances public understanding of screening results. It facilitates communication with healthcare professionals, fostering collaborative patient-provider relationships. Simultaneously, it dramatically reduces demands for manual report consultations, saving hospitals substantial manpower and time costs.

Pathology Department Digitalization：To provide top-quality testing services, the Pathology Department at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital has vigorously pursued informatization and automation, fully digitizing all testing processes and utilizing innovative information systems to enhance overall competitiveness.

Regarding IT applications, the department has constructed multiple management systems to achieve paperless testing. The outpatient lab utilizes smart check-in, cloud-based sample management, and automated sample unloading to greatly reduce waiting times. The clinical lab has introduced intelligent sign-in sorting, precise multi-lane distribution, and auto-verification, shortening the reporting timeframes.

Laboratory information management systems have been implemented in the emergency room, blood bank, and microbiology lab, seamlessly integrating with orders, execution, and report delivery, therebyfully tracing sample flow and improving efficiency. The microbiology lab has even established an intelligent antibiotic management system, linking bacterial reports with medication and sending SMS reminders to adjust treatment plans.

The department's high degree of digitalization is evidenced by its implementation of a 5G AI digital pathology platform, computerized blood bank dispensing, automatic alerts for positive TB PCR tests on tissue blocks, and more. Notably, with the introduction of an intelligent track system that integrates 201 biochemistry and immunoassay tests, report turnaround time and sample throughput capacity have been enhanced.

In pursuit of greater competitiveness, the Pathology Department has centralized test processing, consolidating tests to the central lab for unified execution and effective quality control. The department has also pioneered a one-stop testing process system nationwide, integrating outpatient and clinical testing workflows through cloud-based systems, facilitates secure and convenient access for physicians to necessary documentation, directly improving healthcare quality.

Obtaining medical record copies ：Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital has established a clear application procedures and standard fees to facilitate patients or their legal representatives in obtaining medical imaging reports and pathological examination findings. Patients can fill out the application , select the items and time periods, such as X-rays, CT scans, MRI, nuclear medicine imaging, etc., where the hospital will then burn them onto CDs, according to department and provide it to the requester.

When applying, patients or legal representatives must present identification documents. For minors, legal guardians must apply on their behalf. If someone else is handling the application, a letter of authorization must be provided. The hospital charges a basic fee, per-page fees, and in accordance with regulations, with exemptions for specific demographics, such as veterans and military personnel.

To ensure confidentiality of personal information, the hospital strictly reviews the applicant's identity and proof of relationship. Once approved, applicants can collect the documents in person or authorize someone else, or opt for mail delivery by paying postage fees. Additionally, the hospital also offers summarized medical records in Chinese.

Overall, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital's practices aim to balance patients' rights to access their personal medical information with the obligation to comply with regulations protecting privacy. This allows patients to safely and conveniently obtain needed documents to facilitate subsequent medical treatment or applications.

Diverse Appointment Services：To enhance the convenience of patient appointments, we have introduced a variety of appointment channels, including mobile apps, internet, and automated voice systems. Patients can choose the most suitable appointment method according to their needs and preferences, whether it's using the smartphone app for appointments anytime and anywhere, booking through the website, or utilizing the automated voice system, all of which can complete the appointment or reappointment within minutes. Currently, our online appointment rate has exceeded 80%, with an average appointment time of just 2 minutes, greatly reducing patient waiting times and alleviating congestion at hospital counters.

These mobile appointment services save the hospital approximately 17.4 full-time equivalent employees annually, equivalent to NT$9.57 million in personnel expenses. Through these efficient appointment methods, we can focus more on improving the quality of patient care services rather than being troubled by cumbersome appointment procedures. Since the introduction of diverse appointment services, they have received enthusiastic praise from patients. According to statistics, the number of patients using diverse appointment services has surpassed traditional counter appointments and continues to show a rising trend. This not only improves appointment efficiency but also reduces the error rate of manual operations, making the utilization of medical resources more accurate and reasonable.

In the future, our hospital will continue to optimize these diverse channels and utilize innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to further simplify the appointment process, making it more convenient and user-friendly. Through AI technology, we hope to achieve a more intelligent appointment system, such as predictive appointment recommendations based on patient historical data and even personalized health management plans. These innovative measures will seamlessly integrate our medical services, fully meeting the increasingly high expectations and demands.

Health Education：Our hospital places great emphasis on providing comprehensive health education resources for patients. We have established a comprehensive health education database operates under a "patient-oriented" framework, revolving around common clinical symptoms, diseases, examinations, and self-care needs. It integrates the expertise of professionals from various departments within the hospital to produce diverse health education materials in written, video, and audio formats.

The materials include text explanations, video clips, and audio recordings in Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hakka, ensuring that users from different linguistic backgrounds can access suitable health education information. For topics that require demonstration of care-giving skills, our hospital presents them in short video formats, providing the public with easy-to-follow reference materials.

Furthermore, for the same health education topic, our hospital creates both a "physician edition" and a "nursing edition" with varying levels of detail and from different perspectives to meet the diverse needs of the public regarding the depth of information required.

It is evident that our health education database is designed to be comprehensive and user-friendly, aiming to provide the public with accessible and understandable health education guidance.

Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS)：PACS is a digital system storing and transmitting all medical imaging like X-rays, CTs, and MRIs, eliminating film archives. We rapidly access imaging on computer workstations instead of flipping through jackets. System's image processing tools enable zooming, contrast adjustments, annotation for optimal observation.

A standout feature of PACS is its comprehensive integration of the image acquisition, processing, reporting, and archiving workflow, streamlining our operations with unparalleled efficiency. Physicians remotely access imaging, facilitating diagnoses and consultations. Upon finalizing radiology reports, the full care team is immediately notified, improving patient care.

Crucially, this system is equipped with strict data security and access control mechanisms to ensure the protection of patient privacy. Ensuring timely and accurate communication of abnormal test and examination results is crucial for patient safety and quality healthcare. Consequently, establishing an effective and comprehensive mechanism for reporting abnormal values is a top priority for hospitals.

Our institution has developed a comprehensive "Abnormal Test Result Reporting and Management Procedure" that clearly outlines the types and levels of abnormal values, as well as the corresponding reporting and handling processes.

We categorize abnormal values into two main categories: numerical and non-numerical, and further classify them into three levels based on the degree of risk: critical values, dangerous values, and generally abnormal values. Different reporting methods and response time requirements are implemented for each level.

Critical values trigger immediate notification of the attending physician, ordering physician, and on-call physician via phone, text message, and email, requiring a response within 2 hours. Dangerous values trigger notifications within 24 hours through text messages and emails. Generally abnormal values are reported within 7 working days, also via text messages and emails. All abnormal value reports are carefully documented, with any unaddressed cases within the stipulated timeframe being tracked and reviewed during internal medicine quality assurance meetings.

For outpatients, if contact cannot be established within the designated timeframe, the system will automatically select the "Request patient follow-up" option, and the medical administration department will issue a notification letter. For inpatients, the respective nursing station is notified. Upon physician review of abnormal values, the system automatically prompts appropriate follow-up treatment options based on the patient's current condition, ensuring timely and appropriate subsequent care.

In summary, our institution places utmost importance on the reporting and management of abnormal test results, having established comprehensive processes and mechanisms to maximize patient safety and demonstrate our unwavering pursuit of quality healthcare.

Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers：Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital upholds the philosophy of "patient-centered" philosophy and is dedicated to continuously enhancing the quality of healthcare services and creating an exceptional patient experience. Could be rephrased as of patients' health conditions, functional status, and quality of life, and to continually improve based on their feedback, the hospital has established a comprehensive set of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) initiatives. 

Firstly, the hospital has established multi-channel patient feedback system, including hotlines, online applications, and paper-based surveys to encourage patients to share their thoughts and experiences.

 All feedback collected is kept confidential, allowing patients to respond openly and honestly. This not only helps the hospital gain a deeper understanding of patients' health conditions but also allows for timely evaluation of medical services, which serve as valuable references for the ongoing improvement of healthcare quality.

Secondly, to enhance patients' medical experiences and quality of life, the hospital has introduced a series of innovative patient-centered services. For instance, the development of mobile applications has allowed patients to monitor their health data anytime and communicate with healthcare professionals in real-time. Additionally, the integration of intelligent hardware devices has enabled remote monitoring of patients' health, providing timely medical advice and reminders.

Furthermore, the hospital places great emphasis on involving patients in shared medical decision-making processes. Besides proactively providing comprehensive medical information, the hospital actively encourages close communication between patients and healthcare professionals, allowing patients to express their needs and expectations, and collaboratively develop personalized treatment plans.