Scaling Trust and Impact in Digital Health Through Real-World Innovations and AI Strategies

In the second half of Session A-11 – Special Session: Digital Health at BIO Asia–Taiwan 2025, speakers delved deeper into real-world applications and future directions of digital health technologies and their impact. Industry leaders and researchers highlighted case studies demonstrating the clinical and operational impact of AI-driven diagnostics, digital therapeutics, and data integration platforms. Discussions also explored how scaling cross-sector collaboration, smart hospital infrastructure, and health data ecosystems are accelerating innovation. As the session progressed, emphasis shifted toward scalability, interoperability, and building trust in digital tools to advance global health equity and system resilience.

Google’s AI Strategy in Healthcare Empowers Clinicians Personalizes Care and Drives System Efficiency

Tony Lee, Industry Lead of the Top Partners Team at Google, outlined how the company is applying its latest AI innovations to transform global healthcare delivery. “At Google, we have a goal of helping everyone everywhere live a longer and healthier life,” Lee said, emphasizing the company’s commitment to advancing care through partnerships. He noted that Google’s healthcare focus spans three priority areas: improving operational efficiency, supporting clinicians with AI-driven tools, and delivering personalized patient experiences.

To illustrate this, Lee shared several case studies. In collaboration with Quest Diagnostics, Google deployed its Vertex AI and enterprise search tools to streamline services and reduce training demands. “They have removed obstacles for their patients, increased employee productivity, clinical efficiency, and customer experience,” Lee noted, citing feedback from Quest’s Chief Digital Officer.

One of the most ambitious efforts, according to Lee, is Google’s ongoing partnership with Taiwan’s National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) and Taipei Medical University. The project aims to transform diabetes care by leveraging AI to analyze over three million patient records and predict individual risk. “We have assigned personal risk ratings to every diabetes patient and prioritized care for those at highest risk,” Lee explained. Looking ahead, he announced plans to launch an AI-powered health agent on the NHIA’s digital platform to provide proactive alerts and personalized guidance. “This ecosystem partnership is inspiring for the rest of the world,” he concluded, underscoring Taiwan’s unique strengths in data infrastructure and public health collaboration.

Health2Sync Highlights How Sensors, AI, and Policy Innovation are Transforming Chronic Disease Management Across Asia 

Following Tony Lee’s exploration of AI-enabled partnerships, Ed Deng, Co-Founder and CEO of Health2Sync, took the stage to outline how digital technologies, particularly sensors, automated programs, and evolving policy frameworks, are transforming chronic disease management across Asia. “Forty percent of Taiwan’s national health burden is directly or indirectly related to chronic diseases,” Deng stated, noting that population outcomes for diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia remain below national targets. He emphasized the need for scalable, tech-driven solutions to bridge gaps in clinical capacity, especially in regions where the patient-to-clinician ratio can exceed 25,000 to 1.

Deng showcased Health2Sync’s integration of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), wearable sensors, and behavior-modification models to address prediabetes and weight management. In Singapore, the company built a CGM-based intervention that clusters individuals by glucose response and delivers customized coaching. “Some of us may look similar in terms of BMI or A1C, but our glucose patterns differ significantly,” he explained. In Taiwan, Health2Sync launched an eight-week automated weight loss program, showing early promise with reductions of up to 4.5 kg in under three weeks, achieved without pharmacological support. Another milestone project, in collaboration with Sanofi, involves a titration software-as-a-medical-device program that could become Taiwan’s first reimbursable digital therapeutic for insulin dosing.

Policy support, Deng noted, is key to sustaining innovation. Referencing Taiwan’s “888” initiative, targeting 80% enrollment, education, and achievement in managing chronic conditions, he emphasized the role of risk stratification and reimbursement models. “There’s now a pilot program where NHI reimburses about $1.50 USD per active digital user per month,” Deng said. With multiple AI agents under development and new partnerships launching in Korea and Japan, he concluded: “We’re still far from our targets, but the combination of AI, data, and digital therapeutics is accelerating progress toward scalable, personalized chronic care.”

Far EasTone Telecom Drives Healthcare Transformation by Leveraging 5G AI and IoMT

Peter Hu, CIO and Executive Vice President of Far EasTone Telecom, delivered his keynote highlighting how 5G, AI, and the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) are redefining the healthcare landscape. “We are entering a new era of healthcare,” he stated, “where technology not only enhances medical efficiency but also improves the patient experience.” Hu emphasized the urgency of these innovations in light of Taiwan’s aging population and resource gaps in rural areas, noting that “by 2025, people aged 65 and above will account for over 20% of the population,” placing increasing strain on the healthcare system.

Hu detailed how 5G-enabled telemedicine is helping to address geographic disparities in medical access. “Distance has a huge impact on healthcare access,” he said, citing examples from Hualien County where residents often travel several hours for basic care. Far EasTone has partnered with hospitals such as Hualien Tzu Chi and Kaohsiung Medical University to deploy Taiwan’s first telemedicine services. “This service means those people living in the countryside no longer need to spend hours traveling just to meet the doctor,” Hu noted, explaining how 5G supports high-definition video calls, real-time transmission of medical data, and remote diagnostics.

Beyond connectivity, Hu spotlighted the integration of AI and big data in enhancing healthcare delivery. He described ongoing collaborations with the government to build a secure medical data hub and cited a project where AI was used to screen for retinal diseases in rural clinics. “These AI-generated insights can apply to clinical practice, not only improving medical efficiency but also enhancing service quality,” he said. Hu concluded that “these technologies can break down the barriers and show the best care for every patient,” aligning with the national “Healthy Taiwan” initiative.

Acer Medical Advances Health Equity by Empowering Community Care with AI-Powered Diagnostic Tools

Edward Hsu, President and Chief Medical Officer of Acer Medical, shared insights on advancing health equity by bridging the gap between hospitals and community care through AI technology. He explained, “The goal of this AI tool is to narrow the bridge between the community and the hospital,” addressing the challenge where hospitals have abundant resources while communities often have limited staff and tools. Hsu emphasized simplifying hospital workflows while empowering community healthcare providers with easy-to-use AI devices that help interpret medical reports without heavy workloads.

Hsu highlighted several AI-enabled medical devices designed for widespread screening and diagnosis. For example, an AI-powered fundoscopic device for diabetic retinopathy screening “can identify the retinopathy with more than 90% accuracy,” allowing non-specialists in community clinics to detect early signs of disease and refer patients as needed. This innovation helps increase screening rates in underserved areas, as Hsu noted collaborations with over 80 county health centers in Taiwan and other countries. He also described AI tools for detecting age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, and osteoporosis, all designed to be “easy to use” and deployable outside major hospitals, including mobile health exam buses in remote regions.

Beyond diagnostic devices, Hsu presented AI applications that streamline clinical workflows and patient care. One example is AI-powered voice recognition software that converts mixed-language medical dictations into structured charts with an error rate below 10%, far outperforming commercial systems. Another innovation uses facial recognition to monitor emotional states of patients in daycare centers, helping caregivers tailor support daily. Summarizing the vision, Hsu said, “AI will not replace doctors but will make doctors have a happy life,” reflecting the goal to empower healthcare providers while enhancing access and quality of care across connected communities.

Deloitte Taiwan Showcases AI-driven Digital Transformation Reshaping Healthcare and Life Sciences 

To conclude the session, Nick Hung, Executive Vice President of Technology and Transformation at Deloitte Taiwan, delivered a focused keynote on the role of digital technology and AI in driving healthcare and life sciences transformation. Drawing from Deloitte’s global survey, he highlighted key trends including competitive pressures, customer-centric innovation, cybersecurity concerns, and supply chain risks shaping digital priorities. Hung emphasized the growing adoption of AI to enhance R&D, manufacturing precision, and patient-centered operations, projecting AI’s role in life sciences to rise from 16% in 2024 to 42% by 2029 in R&D alone.

Hung shared two practical use cases from his work with a 50-year-old Taiwanese company undergoing digital transformation. In sales, they streamlined complex hospital drug application processes across multiple stakeholders, enabling leadership to track opportunities and improve decision-making through consolidated, data-driven systems. On the manufacturing side, they replaced traditional paper-based workflows with digital tools like iPads, easing user adoption by mirroring existing processes digitally, reducing paperwork storage, and enabling AI-powered data extraction for future analysis, all while maintaining regulatory compliance.

Closing with a strategic vision, Hung emphasized that AI will not be a single system but an embedded capability across enterprises and business processes, enabling rapid development and deployment of solutions that empower employees at every level. He forecasted a future where AI-driven innovation accelerates continuously, transforming how healthcare companies operate from sourcing and procurement to sales and beyond.

Author

Denisse Sandoval

Related Post

Prime

How the GCC Is Closing the Smart Hospital Gap and Why Taiwan Matters

2026-02-09

Ranking & Reports

What JPM 2026 Tells Us About Biotech’s Future: Regulation, Psychedelics, and AI

2026-01-19

JPM 2026

Beyond the Main Stage: A Showcase of the Next Wave of Korean Biotech Innovation at JPM Week 2026

2026-01-15