Professor Liang-Kung Chen’s research team combines medical centers, community hospital outpatient clinics, primary clinics and health centers to conduct a one-year randomized trial aggregated between Taipei City, New Taipei City, Yilan County, and Hualien County. A total of 398 elderly people over 72.3 years old with 3 or more chronic diseases were to participate in the study, and outpatient physicians were given training in geriatric medicines such as management of multiple chronic diseases, multiple medications, and prevention of disability and dementia.
With Taiwan’s rapidly aging society condition, the number of outpatient visits for the elderly people is close to 30 per year, and the unhealthy survival time for citizens continues to rise, which is a major challenge for the sustainable development of Taiwan’s society. These statistics led to the full development & implementation of international elderly care in Taiwan. At present, health insurance provides affordable and convenient services for disease treatment. However, disability, dementia prevention, and other preventive healthcare are excluded and not integrated within the medical service of health insurance. After all, patients who already suffered from chronic diseases have a higher risk of subsequent disability and dementia. Providing patients with a well-integrated intervention and management of chronic diseases is a must for the interventional model to be considered clinically effective.
