The development and evaluation of the Citizen Telehealth Care service System: case study in Taipei

Because of the rapid aging population in Taiwan and the trend of fewer children, people are looking into technical solutions for continuous/intermittent monitoring of vital signs in the home setting environment and the interactions between family members. In this study we developed a smart medical services system for managing chronic disease, called Citizen Telemedical Care service System (CTCS). The system integrates biosignal measurement, hypertension risk estimation expert system, clinic appointment service, video communication service, medical assistance referral, health frequency program record, and health/hygiene education. The demo version CTCS is exhibited in the center of INSIGHT opened for visit and trial use. In order to verify the demand and acceptability of the system and services, we have interviewed 251 volunteers with a questionnaire survey with the help from Taipei City Government. The results showed that people have positive expectation about the service program for health care and the capability of home devices. They also expressed high motivation on learning to use the system and to participate in the program. According to the evaluation results, the system is processing a small user test led by Taipei City Government, in order to further verify the acceptability and satisfaction of the system.