Preface

The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed the global healthcare system, which now faces an unprecedented crisis and has exposed its serious, long-standing shortage of medical manpower. During the most stressful moments of the pandemic, the surging workload of medical professionals, coupled with the high-risk working environment, resulted in the Great Resignation of nurses. This phenomenon not only aggravates the existing nurse shortage but also creates a vicious cycle that worsens the imbalance between staffing supply and demand.

A 2021 survey by the Royal College of Nursing[1] showed that 74.1% of nursing staff respondents reported working overtime at least once a week, 67.6% felt too much pressure at work, and 61.5% reported thatthey were too busy to provide the level of care they would like to. In the same year, a survey by the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN)[2] found that 66% of critical-care nurses were considering changing careers due to their experience with the pandemic. Even in Taiwan, an exemplary country for pandemic response, a study showed that 15% of nurses in the intensive care unit of a COVID-19 hospital had symptoms of mental trauma[3], 55% felt overworked, and 23% were considering leaving their jobs[4].

If the Shortage of Medical Manpower Is Not Solved, the Operation of the Social System Will Be Seriously Affected.

In fact, the shortage of medical manpower has long been an issue, and the pandemic has only exacerbated it. If not solved, it will have a profound impact on society. In the short term, the supply of medical services will be insufficient to meet the needs of the public. In the long term, with Taiwan’s rapidly declining birthrate and increasing aging population, the medical service system may not be able to function properly due to the continued loss of manpower, which will pose a serious threat to national health and social security.

Feasible Solutions to Strengthen Medical Resilience: Three Cases of Digital Technology Empowering Healthcare

In the face of such challenges, digital technology has brought new hope to the medical sector. On the one hand, digital technology can assist in medical diagnosis and treatment to elevate the quality of medical care; on the other, it can resolve the shortage of healthcare manpower and help the medical system respond to public health emergencies, thereby boosting the overall resilience of society. Below are three application cases:

Case 1: Diligent Robotics

Founded in 2017, U.S.-based Diligent Robotics builtMoxi, an AI nursing assistant robot that helps healthcare workers with routine tasks that do not involve direct patient care, such as transporting specimens, drugs, and medical supplies, as well as handling other logistical duties. Statistics show that Moxi can complete an average of 1,800 deliveries per month, saving healthcare workers approximately 1,600 kilometers of walking. By relieving their workload, Moxi enables medical staff to devote more time and energy to direct patient care.

Case 2: Nuance

Founded in 1994, Nuance, an U.S.-based medical information platform company, has developed intelligent listening technology for multi-disciplinary clinical settings. Its cloud solution Dragon Ambient eXperience (DAX) Express allows physicians to instantly organize consultation notes, query patient charts, and give orders through voice assistants while on the move in the consulting room, on rounds, or in the operating room. This helps medical professionals speed up clinical documentation, saving 50% of the time spent on paperwork and thus improving the overall efficiency of medical care.

Case 3: Huma

Founded in 2011, the British company Huma focuses on how to use AI and big data analysis technology to enhance the resilience of the medical system. During the COVID-19 outbreak, Huma has become a key partner of the NHS in promoting the policy of hospitalizing patients at home. Through its virtual ward platform, Huma has eased the burden on hospitals, doubled clinical capacity, and reduced readmission rates to less than 30%. This digital health platform, which was crucial to combating COVID-19, will continue to be a vital pillar of the medical system in the post-pandemic era.

Taiwan Should Learn from International Experiences and Watch for Three Trends.

From these cases, we can see the huge potential of digital technology in alleviating medical manpower shortages and increasing healthcare efficiency. For Taiwan, these international experiences provide valuable reference. Developing digital healthcare solutions will be an important strategy to cope with the challenges brought by its declining birthrate and aging population, The World Health Organization estimates that by 2030, the world will lack 22.5% of the medical workforce, equivalent to 80 million people. Using digital technology to optimize manpower allocation and healthcare efficiency will be essential for Taiwan’s medical system.

Moreover, digital technology can help mitigate the risk of infection among medical staff and support the resilience of medical services. Through technologies such as medical robots and telemedicine, direct contact between health workers and patients can be reduced, lowering the risk of infection and alleviating the shortage of medical manpower. This was well demonstrated during the pandemic and will continue to be a trend in the post-pandemic era.

Finally, the pandemic has accelerated the development and adoption of digital health technology, especially in home healthcare and virtual wards. These technologies overcome medical manpower shortages and expand clinical capacity while supporting rural and home-based care. For areas with complex geographical environments and uneven distribution of medical resources, digital technology provides a promising solution for strengthening medical resilience.

Conclusion

Digital health technologies and solutions have significant benefits in addressing medical manpower shortages and service efficiency. First, the application of telemedicine and patient monitoring tools can expand care capacity, allowing medical service providers to treat more patients more efficiently and reducing the workload of healthcare workers. Second, digital tools can dynamically and flexibly assist with staffing, enhance medical management efficiency, and avoid staff burnout. In addition, electronic health records (EHR) and data interoperability can help improve care coordination and medical effectiveness. In short, deepening and expanding the use of digital technology will help strengthen the resilience of the medical system and provide better medical services.