The urban/rural medical resources gap has been a thorny problem for the government and the private NPO sector. Folks in rural areas often wait till their medical conditions reach a critical urgent state before seeking treatment, which somehow causes more suffering and could incur more cost on the entire medical system. In recent years, the Digital Humanitarian Association (DHA) have been trying to improve this phenomenon through the remote online health promotion scheme with startling excellent results. On December 6, the Foundation chairman, Wu Jing-Ming, led a delegation to Malipa Tribe in Renai Township in Natou Township to conduct a remote health care session. The elders on site were all very active in asking online doctors about their own health problems, which were all professionally answered. There was a positive interaction plus good health promotion results.

“Online Remote Health Promotion Scheme” is a series of health education and promotion and clinic service courses conducted on an internet platform targeting long-term care institutions in rural areas by setting up and utilizing a databank consisting of over 1000 professional medical talents. The statistics show that 90% of the elders receiving the Online Remote Health Promotion Scheme services no longer wait till their medical conditions worsen into emergency cases before seeking medical treatment. This innovative service model could help people become aware of their health issues and respond early and accordingly before they get out of hand.

The scheme CEO, Pan Ren-Hao, stated that what’s most important about designing these courses is to bridge the distance: we don’t intend to bring the doctors to the rural mountains nor to take the elders down the mountains to the city but to bring digitalized health care to the elders through the community caregivers. Meanwhile, we request our specialists to digitalize their service so that all participants can actualize health promotion in this virtual realm of health care.

The DHA has in recent years worked with the Health Promotion Administration, the Taitung County Government and the Chiayi County Government to equip nearly 100 places with free online health and education courses and clinic service with the goal of promoting the elders’ health awareness through the front-end preventive medical health promotion. The Foundation also sponsored several places to be equipped with the DHA’s services hoping to attract more enterprises and the general public to invest resources in the remote online health promotion scheme in rural areas.

#Digital Humanitarian Association #Chang Yung-Fa Charity Foundation  #Health promotion  #Remote classes #I love taking classes