APEC Project Database

Project Title

Promoting the Development of Information and Communications Technology-Enabled Smart Hospitals

Project Year

2023

Project Number

PPSTI 07 2023A

Project Session

Session 1

Project Type

Standard

Project Status

Completed Project

Project No.

PPSTI 07 2023A

Project Title

Promoting the Development of Information and Communications Technology-Enabled Smart Hospitals

Project Status

Completed Project

Fund Account

APEC Support Fund

Sub-fund

ASF: Digital Innovation

Project Year

2023

Project Session

Session 1

APEC Funding

118,056

Co-funding Amount

92,500

Total Project Value

210,556

Sponsoring Forum

APEC Policy Partnership on Science, Technology and Innovation (PPSTI)

Topics

Science and Technology

Committee

SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE)

Other Fora Involved

Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved

Proposing Economy(ies)

Chinese Taipei

Co-Sponsoring Economies

Korea; Malaysia; Peru; Philippines; Thailand

Expected Start Date

01/01/2024

Expected Completion Date

31/12/2024

Project Proponent Name 1

Yao-Te Peng

Job Title 1

Project Manager

Organization 1

Metal industries Research and Development Centre (MIRDC)

Telephone 1

(886-7) 6955298 Extension 256

Email 1

yaute@mail.mirdc.org.tw

Project Proponent Name 2

Not Applicable

Job Title 2

Not Applicable

Organization 2

Not Applicable

Telephone 2

Not Applicable

Email 2

Not Applicable

Declaration

Yao-Te Peng

Project Summary

To meet the APEC 2023 priorities of strengthening health systems and enhancing digitization for an equitable and inclusive future, Chinese Taipei proposes smart hospitals which leverage information and communications technology (ICT) innovations to medical services to achieve the goal. ICT can assist medical care in several different aspects, including effectively handling large-scale repetitive work with a physiology monitoring system, and improving diagnostic precision through medical image aided AI analysis, and more. It mitigates the shortage of medical personnel in APEC economies and enables inclusive healthcare for all.

This project plans to hold a In-Person seminar for connecting ICT and medical industries to create cross-domain precision medical services. Hospital management level, doctors and ICT companies will be invited to share the models and barriers of smart hospitals. It is expected that the In-Person seminar will stimulate the development of more medical-related ICT solutions and become important pillars to build smart hospitals.

Relevance

Issues: Today, life expectancy is getting longer, and diseases are becoming more complicated. There is a shortage of healthcare workers around the region. For example, the number of doctors per 10,000 people in Indonesia and Thailand is 6.23 and 8.1, respectively, both lower than the 9.1 recommended by the United Nations.[1] Coupled with the continuous spread of the COVID-19 epidemic in the world in recent years, medical systems around the world have collapsed. In the past two years since the outbreak of the epidemic, 500,000 medical staff have been lost (about 1 out of 5 medical staff have left their jobs),[2] which has seriously overloaded the medical system.

At present, most of the applications of smart healthcare focus on communication technology and information integration. Through the establishment of a systematic database, it is convenient for data access, and it is also conducive to the integration of data for medical research and analysis. In addition, highly repetitive tasks or diagnoses (such as image interpretation) will gradually be performed by AI.

In addition, by combining AI with information and communication technology (ICT), patients can take medical equipment home, or still receive medical services remotely. For example: remote health monitoring, AI warning notification system, etc. And we are aware that this should be conduct according to the guiding principle of “promote the appropriate use of digital technologies for health” proposed by WHO.

The establishment of smart hospitals will definitely be a trend in the future, especially in the face of the dual problems of the current shortage of medical personnel and the advent of an aging society resulting in an increasing number of people in need of care. The application of ICT and AI in the medical system has become more and more attention.

Eligibility and Fund Priorities: This project aims to apply for the APEC Support Fund (ASF) – Digital Innovation. It meets the eligibility criteria and funding priorities by:

1) Promoting innovation and adoption of enabling technologies and services: Introduce innovative digital medical devices for the development of smart hospital and facilitate cross-field collaborations between ICT and medical industries.

2) Development of digital infrastructure: Digitization of medical information and records in hospitals for strengthening digital infrastructure for healthcare system.

Capacity Building: This project will build the capacity of APEC member economies through holding a In-Person seminar to connect ICT and medical industries and encourage them to share and strengthen the cross-domain knowledge and technical know-how for developing precision medical solutions as well as promoting enabling policies and regulations for the development of smart hospital.

[1] Data source: World health statistics 2023: monitoring health for the SDGs, sustainable development goals, ISBN: 978-92-4-007432-3 (electronic version) ; 978-92-4-007433-0 (print version). The density of medical doctors (per 10,000 population) in APEC region: Australia 41; Brunei 19.1; Canada 24.6; Indonesia 6.23; Japan 26.1; Malaysia 22.3; New Zealand 35.2; Philippines 7.9; Republic of Korea 25.1; Thailand 8.1; United States of America 35.6; China 23.9; Mexico 24.4; Papua New Guinea 0.6; Chile 29.7; Peru 16.5; Russia 38.3; Viet Nam 8.3

[2] Data source: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/workforce/about-1-in-5-healthcare-workers-have-left-medicine-since-the-pandemic-began-here-s-why.html

Objectives

The objective of this project is to promote equitable and quality healthcare by proposing smart hospitals which leverage information and communications technology (ICT) innovations to medical services particularly on smart medical physiological device to achieve the goal. ICT can assist medical care in several different aspects, including effectively handling large-scale repetitive work with a physiology monitoring system, and improving diagnostic precision through medical image aided AI analysis, and more. It mitigates the shortage of medical personnel in APEC economies and enables inclusive healthcare for all.

Alignment

Beneficiaries and Outputs

Outputs:

1) Pre-Event Survey

To understand the current status of the application of information and communication technology in hospitals within the APEC region, we will conduct an online survey prior to the In-Person seminar.

The survey questionnaire is divided into two parts. The first part focuses on data collection, including the development, application, and demand of information and communication technology in hospitals across APEC economies. The second part gathers information on topics of interest, suggestions, and the willingness to serve as speakers in demonstrations or seminars. The results and analysis of the pre-event survey will serve as a reference for agenda setting, topic identification, speaker invitations, and discussion group deliberations. The pre-event survey key results and analysis including recommendations are expected to span 8 pages and will be included as annex to the Final Report. This chapter will include a table of contents, executive summary, key findings summary, results analysis, recommendations, and conclusions.

Target Audience: Individuals from each APEC member economy, including policymakers, research institutions, hospitals, and the private sector.

2) In-person Seminar

Purpose: The purpose of establishing smart hospitals through information and communication technology is to facilitate digital transformation in the APEC region, particularly targeting policymakers, research institutions, hospitals, and private sectors with an interest in digital transformation. To enhance the understanding of smart healthcare models among APEC economies' participants, the goal of this seminar is to share and discuss the applications and benefits of smart hospitals in healthcare systems, as well as address relevant challenges and issues. In addition, a site-visit will also be arranged to showcase actual digital healthcare solutions, allowing participants to gain a more direct understanding of various applications of digital healthcare. This will enhance their grasp of service models for future healthcare solution adoption. We expect this seminar to bring tangible benefits to healthcare professionals and individuals in need of precision treatment, while also promoting the modernization and development of healthcare systems in the APEC region.

Target Audience: The target audience for this In-Person seminar includes individuals from APEC member economies who are interested in the establishment of smart hospitals, particularly policymakers, research institutions, hospitals, and private sectors. The event is expected to have a total of 60 participants.

Tentative agenda:

Timeline	Oct. 2024, two days
Location	Chinese Taipei
Day 1		Day 2
Topic A	(2 hours ) The development trends of smart hospitals	2 hours Trends in the development of disease auxiliary diagnosis
Topic B	(2 hours ) 5G ICT physiological monitoring: Sensing technology	(2 hours ) Smart hospital disease image information integration service model
Lunch break time (1 hour)
Topic C	(1 hour ) 5G ICT physiological monitoring: Smart hospital service model	(2.5 hours ) Collaborative model for integrating the smart healthcare industry chain
Q&A (10 minutes)
Physical Site Visit to Hospital or University (2 hours) Proposed Location: Taipei Visit 2 Factories such as Surgical Navigation System, Digital Dentistry, Medical Image, etc.		Final session for recommendations(30 min) 1. Seminar recap and learning discussion 2. Seminar suggestion

Post-seminar evaluation:

We will conduct a post-seminar evaluation to collect feedback and assess the APEC region participants' understanding of the smart hospital healthcare content.

3) Final Report

The final report will be minimum of 38 pages (excluding annexes). It will be divided into two parts: project outcomes and policy recommendations. The initial draft of the final report is expected to be submitted by November 1, 2024. The report will focus on summarizing the outcomes of the seminar held in October 2024. It will include the status, trends, and applications of information and communication technology in hospital establishments, as well as the results and analysis of the pre-event survey and the outcomes of the In-person seminar. The Final Report will be of an APEC publication.

Tentative Outline:

a) The current status of smart hospital systems (10 pages)

b) Selected successful cases of digital transformation in smart hospital systems (12 pages)

c) Achievements and policy recommendations based on the seminar conclusion (8 pages)

d) Results and analysis of pre-seminar survey (8 pages)

Outcomes: By showcasing smart hospital solutions and hosting seminar to exchange ideas and gather feedback, we aim to provide an opportunity for APEC member economies to share their experiences and learn from one another. The expected outcomes include:

a) Increased participant understanding of the application of telemedicine systems in the region

b) Enhanced knowledge and understanding of APEC member economies on how digital transformation can be applied in general healthcare systems

c) Increased knowledge dissemination regarding how to develop digital healthcare systems

The outcome performances will be measured through customized pre-event and post-seminar evaluation to collect participants' feedbacks on the seminar.

Beneficiaries: The seminar will be to invite users of smart healthcare (such as doctors) and policymakers as key guest speakers. They will share insights into the application of smart healthcare from different professional perspectives, allowing participants (such as ICT industry professionals) to understand the application requirements and future collaboration methods of smart healthcare products in various economies. The expected benefits for participants are as follows:

Primary Beneficiaries:

1) Physician: Benefit from AI cloud platform and digitized data to improve diagnosis and treatment efficiency.

2) ICT companies: Benefit from AI cloud platform and digitized data to improve the accuracy of product sensing by collecting a large amount of data.

3) Policy makers: Benefit from the establishment of the smart hospital to understand the formulation and planning of digital medical policies.

Secondary Beneficiaries:

1) Medical industries: Benefit from AI cloud platform and digitized data to reduce the production time .

2) Medical staff: Benefit from AI cloud platform and digitized data to reduce heavy and repetitive work.

3) General public: To have real-time access to health status and receive immediate treatment at any time.

Dissemination

The target audience for promoting this project will include policy makers, research institutions, hospitals, and private sectors in APEC member economies who are particularly interested in information and communication technology (ICT), especially in the context of smart healthcare. The final report will encompass the Pre-event survey, project outcomes, and policy recommendations. It is expected that the final report will be publicly released in 2024 after review by the APEC Secretariat. It will be uploaded to the APEC Publications website and APEC Project Database to share with audiences who were unable to attend the event.

Gender

Targets
Female Participants (%)	50%
Female Speakers/Experts (%)	50%

Referring to the Guide on Gender Criteria for APEC Project Proposals in the Guidebook on APEC Projects, please tick the pillar or pillars that this project supports, in promoting women’s economic empowerment:

	5 Pillars (you may tick more than one)
1	Access to Capital and Assets
2	Access to Markets
3	Skills, Capacity Building, and Health	x
4	Leadership, Voice and Agency	x
5	Innovation and Technology	x

1) Skills, Capacity Building, and Health: Through experience sharing and demonstrations, this project will assist APEC economics in benefiting from the application of ICT technology and improving healthcare quality.

2) Leadership, Voice, and Agency: Regardless of sex, participants will have equal opportunities to voice their opinions or provide suggestions during the activities. We will also make efforts to invite female experts as speakers to showcase their contributions to the application of ICT technology in the healthcare field. In order to achieve satisfactory gender equality levels, the participation and target proportions of women from developing APEC economies will be fully considered. The Pre-event survey will include questions and topics to understand women's perspectives or the impact on women related to the theme.

3) Innovation and Technology: In this project, women have equal opportunities as men to benefit from and participate in the development and implementation of ICT technology in smart hospitals.

PO is committed to collecting sex disaggregated data for all speakers and participants (not only those funded by APEC) at the project event. This data will be included when submitting a Completion Report to the Secretariat upon completion of the project, as well as providing guidance to future POs on their own gender parity targets’.

Work Plan

Timeline	Tasks	Deliverables
Jan 2024	Drafting Terms of References for contractor (for event logistic)	Signed contract Terms of Reference (ToRs)
Apr – May 2024	Draft the content of survey questionnaire	Tentative survey questionnaire
1 Apr 2024	Submit the APEC Project Monitoring Report to the Secretariat	APEC Project Monitoring Report
Jun – Jul 2024	Confirm and circular the survey questionnaire	Final survey questionnaire
Jul – Aug 2024	Draft General Information Circular	Tentative General Information Circular
Aug 2024	General Information Circular	General Information Circular
Aug 2024	Confirm the agenda, speakers and participants of seminar	Final agenda of seminar A final list of speakers and APEC participants
Oct 2024	1. Host In-Person Seminar 2. Post-Seminar evaluation	2-day In-Person Seminar Post-Seminar evaluation results
Oct 2024	Draft Final report	Draft final report
End Oct 2024	Submit draft Final Report to the Secretariat for review and to forum for endorsement	Endorsed Final Report
By end Feb 2025	Submit the APEC Project Completion Report and supporting documents to the Secretariat	APEC Project Completion Report
6-12 Months after project completes	Participation in the LTEAP survey conducted by the APEC Secretariat

Risks

No.	Risks	How will it be managed?
1	Low survey response rate.	Shorten participant completion time with concise questionnaire items to increase survey response rate.
2	Low attendance of participants	Invite participation from ICT industry representatives, hospitals, and policymakers through electronic emails, event announcements, and other promotional channels. 1.
3	Low availability of relevant speakers and speakers while taking in to account the gender equality.	1. Requesting the forum PD to send an email to members seeking suggestions of female speakers/experts. 2. Using the GIC to encourage economies to nominate at least one female participant.
4	Unequal engagement of target groups	We will personally invite experts from various fields to participate in this seminar and ensure that members from diverse domains contribute to sharing the applications of smart healthcare.
5	The solutions provided often lack applicability to the unique context of their home economies.	Invite the participants to share the unique context of their home economies and discuss in the panel discussion or Q&A in seminar to find a solution.

Monitoring and Evaluation

	Evaluation Focus	Indicators	Target Goals	Evaluation Method	Reporting Method
Outputs	1. Pre-event Survey	1. No. of questionnaires	1	Questionnaire	Final Report
		2. No. of responses	60	Result analysis of the on-line form	Final Report
		3. No. of participating economies	11	Result analysis of the on-line form	Final Report
		4. content developed and deployed	May 2024	Certification by PO	Final Report
	2. In-Person Seminar	1. No. of participants (excl. speakers/ experts)	60	Event Attendance List	Completion Report
		2. % of participating men/women (excl. speakers/experts)	60/40	Result analysis of Event Attendance List and recommendations	Completion Report
		2. No. of speakers/experts engaged	6	Event Attendance List	Completion Report
		3. % of speakers/experts (men/women)	66/34	Result analysis of Event Attendance List and recommendations	Completion Report
		4. No. of attending economies	11	Event Attendance List	Completion Report
		5. No. of travel eligible economies	11	Event Attendance List	Completion Report
		6. No. of solutions demonstrated	3	Event Agenda/The solutions demonstrated in In-Person seminar	Final Report
	3. Final Report	1. No. of pages	38	Certification by PO	Submission to Secretariat
Out-comes	1. Increased participant understanding of the application of telemedicine systems in the region	1. % of participants report knowledge increase of understanding on telemedicine systems application	75	Post-Seminar evaluation	Final Report
	2. Enhanced knowledge and understanding of APEC member economies on how digital transformation can be applied in general healthcare systems	1. % of participants report knowledge increase of understanding on digital transformation applied in healthcare systems	75%	Post-Seminar evaluation	Final Report
	3. Increased knowledge dissemination regarding how to develop digital healthcare systems	1. % of participants report willingness to disseminate digital healthcare systems development related knowledge	75	Post-Seminar evaluation	Submission to the Secretariat
Others

Linkages

This project focuses on the establishment and promotion of smart hospitals, which is very relevant to the Digital Economy Steering Group’s (DESG) key focus of development of digital infrastructure and promoting innovation and adoption of enabling technologies and services; and SMEWG priority of inclusive capability development towards digitalization. In addition, this project also meets the objective of Health Working Group (HWG) to strengthen health systems to improve accessibility, sustainability and quality of healthcare. Therefore, we would work closely with DESG, SMEWG and HWG.

We will disseminate the arrangements for this seminar to units such as DESG, SMEWG, and HWG, and invite representatives to attend the seminar and engage in the exchange of insights related to smart healthcare.

Sustainability

1) Continue to track the participant economies after the events to realize their further requirements and provide them with information about the practice and application of digital transformation in the healthcare system.

2) Assist in promoting cooperation among APEC member economies, particularly in the field of smart healthcare, to jointly develop information and communication technology equipment. This includes collaborative research, technology exchange, and knowledge sharing to enhance the application of information and communication technology devices in hospitals.

3) By showcasing solutions within the healthcare system, participants from APEC economies will gain a deeper understanding of the application of information and communication technology within the APEC region, and acquire new insights for implementing it in their respective industries locally.

4) After participating in the seminar, the know-how and concepts of development of information and communication technology will be spread to APEC regions.

5) The recommendation report can not only increase the knowledge of digital transformation for the participants but also can help to improve the environment of the healthcare system.

Direct Labour

Contractor - Event Logistics Provider
No.	Specific Tasks	No. of Hours
1.	Search for the event venue, conduct a site visit to check. (Event handling)	60
2.	Work with project team in drafting, revising, designing and finalizing the event related documents, including promotion materials, news release, speakers’ invitation and agenda etc.( Administrative affairs)	68
3.	Managing and overseeing events on the day of the event, including moderator assignment, guest reception, event set-up direction, staff communication, vendors organization and speech and demonstration monitoring.( Event handling)	60
4.	Assisting in the event test run and rehearsal( Event handling)	16
5.	Coordinate all pre-event survey such as itinerary planning, accommodation and transportation for speakers and participants. ( Event handling)	20
6.	Follow-up on the event details as per the agenda and needs of each event for the speakers and participants, provide all on-site requirements such as speaker/participant registration, meal requirements, etc. ( Event handling)	60
Total:		284

Contractor - Researcher
No.	Specific Tasks	No. of Hours
1. 1	Survey of APEC economies: develop the questionnaire and conduct analysis of the responses	25
2. 5	Develop general material for the workshop, including: 1) Technical overview of the topics to be discussed in the In-Person seminar. 2) Technical overview of use cases to be shared in the In-Person seminar.	25
3. 4	Gathering opinions, comments, and suggestions on In-Person seminar and review them for providing an analysis report.	25
4. 2	Drafting the Final Report of minimum 38 pages which comprise summaries of the survey, summaries of the In-Person seminar, Best Practices, Lessons Learned, Policy Recommendations and Conclusions. Note: Items such as agendas, copies of speaker presentations and participant feedback results are not counted as content and page number, but may be annexed to the final report.	25
5. 3	Distribute and collect post-seminar evaluation : develop questionnaire and conduct response analysis.	25
Total:		125

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Project No.
Project Title
Project Status
Fund Account
Sub-fund
Project Year
Project Session
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Co-funding Amount
Total Project Value
Sponsoring Forum
Topics
Committee
Other Fora Involved
Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved
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Expected Start Date
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Project Proponent Name 1
Job Title 1
Organization 1
Telephone 1
Email 1
Project Proponent Name 2
Job Title 2
Organization 2
Telephone 2
Email 2
Declaration
Project Summary
Relevance
Objectives
Alignment
Beneficiaries and Outputs
Dissemination
Gender
Work Plan
Risks
Monitoring and Evaluation
Linkages
Sustainability
Direct Labour
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Content Type: Standard Proposal