Pandemic Prevention Measures
As COVID-19 broke out locally in Taiwan in May 2021, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital mobilized all staff to cooperate with government policies as the only medical center in New Taipei City. FEMH not only took care of the patients in the hospital but also expanded its scope of care to communities, protecting the health of the public and employees. FEMH has established the following objectives for the implementation of pandemic prevention measures, in order to avoid nosocomial infections and maintain normal hospital operations:
01
Rapid Test Team Eradicating the Pandemic Spread
02
Vaccination Boosting Community Protection
03
Rigorous-Standard Control for Leak-Proof Effect
04
Uninterrupted Medical Services Through Telemedicine
05
Centralized Quarantine Center Expands the Healthcare Capacity
Rapid Test Team Eradicating the Pandemic Spread
Far Eastern Memorial Hospital immediately and voluntarily took responsibility at the early stage of the pandemic in February 2021. In just 10 days, FEMH passed the safety risk assessment of the COVID-19 specimen laboratory and became the first designated laboratory in New Taipei City. FEMH cooperated with the modification of the rapid test and registration system by inserting the national health insurance card for accessing the basic data and relevant national health insurance data with remarks on rapid test or PCR records as well as vaccination records. The optimization of information was the key to boosting the test capacity for a single to over 100 people.
5G Digital Test Bus
The cancer screening vehicle was improved to a 5G digital test bus that boosted the flexibility of COVID-19 tests. The tests can be provided by driving the vehicles to the designated sites and all registration and uploading processes can be achieved in one bus, which was not restricted by the test sites. The application of the 5G network assisted with the fast verification of the information system, speeding up the examination efficiency. The mobility test bus toured six districts o New Taipei City and seven test stations, testing nearly 10,000 people in just 1 month as the pandemic was rising.
Rapid Test Team Eradicating the Pandemic Spread
The peak of the 2021 pandemic lasted from May 24 to August 2. FEMH undertook 60,000 people or New Taipei City Community Testing Station, rapid test team, and corporate rapid testing, which accounted for 27% of the community testing capacity for New Taipei City at the time. As of the end of May 2022, the number of people tested reached 276,000 which helped with the early control of the pandemic situation.
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The Number of People Tested Reached
276,000
People
Vaccination Boosting Community Protection
The IT Office of FEMH developed an independent vaccination platform system to reduce paper-based contact and shorten the waiting time for public registration through information aids. The reservation information can be confirmed by reading the national insurance cards via the fast connection with the New Taipei City Reservation website and Central Reservation System. The test results can also be immediately imported if the village heads have prepared the lists. Additionally, articulating the CDC vaccination records, checking the vaccination dates, and verifying the dosage form, dosage, and identity of vaccination in the past can be registered through a faster and accurate mode. The doctors can evaluate the patients’ physical conditions via the diagnosis operation interface and can make remarks on any special adverse rection, which will automatically pop out with a reminder when the public takes the second shot of vaccination.
Community Vaccination
FEMH undertakes the community vaccination stations for Zhonghe, Wugu, Banqiao, Linkou, and Yingge Districts of New Taipei City. FEMH also undertakes the first large indoor vaccination station in Taiwan - New Taipei City Exhibition Hall in Wugu, with 8 lines concurrently vaccinated per single day and five thousand people completing vaccination. The maximum vaccination capacity per single day could exceed 10,000 thousand shots of vaccination. The vaccination for senior citizens aged over 85 years old takes into consideration of Umi-machi style from Fukuoka Japan, which only took 4.2 minutes from reporting into vaccination. To show care for the disadvantaged group, the Department of Health, New Taipei City offered home vaccination. FEMH home care team is instantly devoted to helping seniors with a physical disability to get vaccines at home. As of May 2022, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital implemented a total of 760,000 COVID-19 vaccines and spared no efforts in upgrading the community defense against COVID-19.
- Picture 1: Home Vaccination
- Picture 2: Community Vaccination Station
Picture 1
Picture 2
As of May 2022, FEMH Implemented COVID-19 Vaccines Reached
Rigorous-Standard Control for Leak-Proof Effect
To shorten the length of stay for patients in the hospital, FEMH canceled the walk-in outpatient registration and only offered outpatient by reservation during the peak of the pandemic. The admission to FEMH allowed only one person to look after the patient and general visits were prohibited. The person looking after the patient must connect to the patient’s medical history through real-name registration while the ICU visit requires an appointment.
Real-Name Registration and Rapid Test/PCR Test for FEMH
All departments implemented the name-based management system (including patients, family members, employees, contractors, couriers, etc.). The system/platform in FEMH have combined with screening, vaccine platform report, and will be automatically reminded of any anomaly. Ensure the safety of patients and employees.
Step.1
Entrances and Exits
Name-based access control Fast QR code clearance
Step.2
Exam Room, Nursing Station
- Name-based patient/family binding
- NIS system shows the PCR/rapid test/ vaccination status of the patient/support person
Step.3
Inpatients, Family Members
- Implement patient, company, visitor, support person registration. Check if they have PCR/rapid test records
- Antigen rapid test, Patient/Support person, Automatically removed after 7 days
Step.4
Regular Check
The Internal Audit Department will regularly check the status of screening reports for each department
Step.1
Step.2
Step.3
Step.4
Uninterrupted Medical Services Through Telemedicine
At the breakout of the pandemic, a telemedicine team was formed to continue the care for patients with chronic diseases. The IT Office designed a new remote terminal platform with Far EasTone to launch the telemedicine service on May 24, 2021. The public can complete the registration via the APP and connect with the registration system and in-hospital HIS system, so that the doctors could view the patient’s registration information and medical history via clinical prescription. To help more elderly with the use of the system, the platform offers additional telemedicine via user registration via phone. The appointment progress can also be viewed via the APP, while video files after completion of the appointment can be viewed offline and downloaded. Telemedicine complies with the certification and standards of information security, including the certification for ISO-27001 and STAR.
Telemedicine, Pay Online
To prevent the increased risk of infection from entering the hospital, FEMH offers cashier and prescription dispensing at the exit of the hospital, providing a fast and convenient model of “drive-thru-medicine.” The patients can receive the prescription and pay at the exit of the hospital after diagnosis, if the patient’s purpose of telemedicine is the prescription for chronic diseases, diagnosis certificate, and appointment for the examination. The patients can pay online via “E-HEALTH PAY” APP if the purpose of telemedicine is to verify the examination report. The patient will not need to go to the hospital for payment. As of the end of 2021, FEMH has offered telemedicine for 28 departments, attending services to 10,480 patients.
Centralized Quarantine Center Expands the Healthcare Capacity
FEMH undertakes the largest Banqiao and Sanchong Centralized Quarantine Center in New Taipei City. The doctors and nurse practitioners conduct initial screening and examination compatible with the ER examination model of FEMH. Patients may directly return to the hospital for any emergency condition, so that patients can receive immediate medical treatment. Each floor is established with an independent official LINE account, and patients can directly check LINE for any precautions or announcements. Moreover, patients can contact personnel on duty 24 hours a day. Apart from attending to the physical requirement of the patients admitted to the hospital, the “mood and emotion” survey on the patient’s psychological status is also conducted periodically. Patients will be transferred to the psychiatry department for treatment, if necessary.
Sanchong Quarantine Center
Banqiao Quarantine Center
FEMH SOP for Centralized Quarantine Center
Most patients at the centralized quarantine center have minor symptoms but still required attention on their physical conditions. FEMH designed a comprehensive cloud care model that integrates in-hospital system design with a remote virtual ward that facilitate the patients with vital signs upload and doctor prescription of medicines. The system constantly monitors patients’ physiological condition, CPR results and adjusts treatment at any time or calls back patients to the hospital. All relevant records will be retained at the medical history of the patients.
The two major reinforced centralized quarantine centers have treated over 1,200 patients of confirmed cases, with 0 death of confirmed case at the center and 0 case of COVID-19 infection acquired from the center. Hospitals in New Taipei City faced with less political pressure and blocked the spread via household. The Department of Health Commissioner Chen, Ran-Chou, acknowledges this model as the “Far Eastern Model” while Mayor Hou, You-Yi praised this treatment SOP as an example for other centralized quarantine centers.
Two Major Reinforced Centralized Quarantine Centers Have Treated Over
Death of Confirmed Case at the Center
Case of COVID-19 Infection Acquired from the Center
Revert Process from the Defeated and Establish a Legend in the Fight Against the Pandemic.
The hospital-acquired infection incident of Far Eastern Memorial Hospital in May 2021 drove FEMH to revert through a resurrection process from the defeated to carrying forward, thereby establishing a legend in the fight against the pandemic. The anti-pandemic behavior of FEMH was also awarded the 2020-2021 National Healthcare Quality Award in “Pandemic Prevention Contribution Award,” “Pandemic Prevention Selected Institution,” “Smart Medical Mark” and many other awards. FEMH Vice President Kuan-Ming Chiu at the time was also awarded by Taiwan Medical Association with the “Special Pandemic Prevention Contribution Award.”
