As the world grapples with aging populations and deepening healthcare workforce shortages, digital transformation is no longer a forward-looking ambition but a present necessity. Taiwan has responded with its “Healthy Taiwan” vision, placing digital healthcare at the center of its national strategy. By integrating big data, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud infrastructure, the system aims not only to improve efficiency and quality, but to reshape healthcare itself into something more holistic and genuinely person-centered.

Taiwan’s advantages are not incidental. The island combines a sophisticated information and communications technology (ICT) sector with the long-standing foundation of its National Health Insurance (NHI) system. Over time, the NHI has accumulated a vast reservoir of high-quality healthcare data, creating the conditions for a meaningful transition toward smart healthcare. Building on this foundation, Taiwan has introduced a national digital health platform known as the “3-3-3 Framework,” which integrates three core health domains, three standardized data systems, and three National AI governance centers. The goal is straightforward but ambitious: a fully integrated digital health infrastructure.

Within this framework, electronic medical records are being unified across more than 400 hospitals, supported by international standards such as Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR). These standards ensure that patient data can move seamlessly across institutions. At the same time, a Zero Trust cybersecurity model governs the system, ensuring that data sharing remains both secure and usable—an essential balance in an era of rising cyber threats.

These policies are no longer theoretical. Their effects are beginning to surface across the healthcare system. In chronic disease management, for example, the “Family Physician Platform” incorporates AI-driven risk prediction tools, enabling physicians to tailor care more precisely to individual patients. The shift is subtle but consequential: from reactive treatment toward proactive health management.

Data integration has also advanced significantly. The MediCloud system provides real-time access to patient records and medication histories, reducing redundancy and improving clinical decision-making. Enhanced visualization tools, alongside AI-assisted medical imaging, further strengthen diagnostic accuracy and patient safety.

At the individual level, digital tools are reshaping how people engage with their own health. The “My Health Bank” platform has surpassed a 50 percent adoption rate and can now integrate data from wearable devices, encouraging a more active and continuous form of personal health management. In oncology, Taiwan is leveraging FHIR standards to exchange Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) data, accelerating the certification process for catastrophic illnesses and enabling faster access to treatment. Meanwhile, virtual health insurance cards, e-prescriptions, and telemedicine services are steadily dissolving the geographic and temporal barriers that have long defined access to care, particularly in rural and home-based settings.

Behind these innovations lies a structured approach to governance. Taiwan has established 19 national medical AI centers, each tasked with overseeing responsible development, clinical validation, and real-world impact assessment. This layered oversight ensures that AI applications are not only effective but trustworthy. To date, more than 50 AI-driven medical products have received regulatory approval, supporting everything from early cancer detection to cardiac risk prediction and clinical decision support.

Taiwan’s progress has not gone unnoticed. Thirteen of its hospitals are ranked among Newsweek’s “World’s Best Smart Hospitals 2026,” placing the island second in Asia and underscoring its growing international competitiveness. At the same time, Taiwan is advancing federated learning platforms, allowing institutions to collaborate on AI model development without transferring sensitive data. These efforts have already begun to extend beyond its borders, with partnerships emerging across Southeast Asia to establish trusted frameworks for cross-border data sharing.

Yet healthcare, by its nature, does not respect borders. Effective global health governance depends on collaboration, transparency, and shared expertise. Taiwan has built a smart healthcare ecosystem that extends beyond hospitals into communities and everyday life, demonstrating a model that is both scalable and exportable. Its experience suggests that it has something tangible to offer the international community.

And yet, Taiwan remains excluded from full participation in the World Health Organization (WHO) and its related mechanisms. United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 and World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolution 25.1 do not explicitly address Taiwan’s status, nor do they preclude its participation in global health forums. The absence, therefore, is political rather than procedural.

The case for inclusion is not abstract. It is rooted in capability, contribution, and the simple recognition that global health systems are only as strong as their weakest link. Taiwan has demonstrated both the technical capacity and the institutional maturity to contribute meaningfully.

The appeal, then, is direct. Taiwan urges the WHO and its stakeholders to support its inclusion in the global health system, strengthening collective resilience at a moment when fragmentation carries real risks. The island intends to continue advancing smart healthcare through digital innovation, contributing to global health outcomes in the process. The broader vision is one already enshrined in international commitments: health as a fundamental human right, and a global system that leaves no one behind.