TAIWAN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Eddie Hsiung, Tsung-Yuan Shen and Nita Ye, Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law
more than 20% of the population is aged 65 or over) by 2025. As the proportion of elderly individuals rises, the demand for healthcare services is expected to increase correspondingly. As such, Taiwan’s health - care system is currently confronted with a critical shortage of humanpower, which complicates efforts to meet the escalating needs of its ageing population. In response, Taiwan is exploring a range of strate - gies, including integration of advanced technologies, enhancement of workforce training programmes, and implementation of policy reforms aimed at optimising resource allocation. AI applications in healthcare development in Taiwan In the context of healthcare development in Taiwan, AI applications have been frequently integrated into assistance and alert functionalities. These foundation - al uses leverage AI’s inherent capabilities to analyse complex datasets of medical data, thereby enabling tailored applications to address specific clinical needs. Medical management, diagnosis and prediction- based diagnosis More recently, AI’s role in healthcare has expanded to encompass medical management, diagnosis, and prediction-based diagnosis. In the area of medi - cal management, AI has been applied to optimise resource utilisation and enhance the organisation of outpatient services. In diagnostic applications, AI- powered identification systems have been employed to facilitate faster and more precise image analyses, thereby supporting clinicians in achieving more accu - rate diagnoses. Regarding prediction-based diagno - sis, by aggregating and analysing extensive data - sets including patient histories, genetic information, and real-time health indicators, AI can generate risk assessments and recommend precautionary meas - ures to individual patients. In Taiwan, leading medical institutions such as Nation - al Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital have begun integrating AI-assisted outpatient services into their clinical offerings. These services span various specialties, including ortho - pedics, cardiology, and neuroimaging interpretation.
Through these applications, AI supports clinicians in delivering more accurate diagnoses and personalised treatment plans. Clinical care In the area of clinical care, AI systems can aggregate and analyse vast amounts of patient biodata, including medical histories, imaging data, and real-time physi - ological measurements. Through continuous monitor - ing, AI can detect subtle changes or emerging risks in a patient’s condition. Such uninterrupted surveillance facilitates timely identification of potential complica - tions, allowing for proactive interventions that lead to better patient outcomes. Beyond individual patient monitoring, AI-based analy - sis of large-scale datasets enables the detection of non-compliance or deviations from established medi - cal standards. Through comparison monitoring, AI can identify instances where a patient may not be follow - ing prescribed instructions, or where clinical practic - es diverge from accepted standards. Corresponding alerts could serve as safeguards to prevent avoidable clinical errors. A practical example of AI applications in clinical care is demonstrated by technologies developed at Nation - al Cheng Kung University Hospital, where AI-driven tools calculate muscle composition ratios based on CT scans. This innovation enables early warning of potential side effects associated with chemotherapy. Legal Framework Governing Healthcare & AI in Taiwan With the rapid advancement of AI technologies in recent years, society has witnessed unprecedented convenience brought about by AI. Alongside such benefits, however, growing concern has arisen regard - ing potential ethical and legal challenges posed by AI. To ensure that AI development proceeds in a respon - sible manner, several countries have initiated estab - lishment of legal frameworks aimed at managing AI. Among these efforts, the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act, passed in 2024, stands out as a milestone regu - latory initiative. Concurrently, Taiwan has recognised the need for local AI regulations. Starting in 2019, the government
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