With extensive experience in government projects involving taxation and household registration, Mobisnet has established itself as Taiwan's only healthcare system developer capable of integrating comprehensive models that cater to day-care, home nursing, and other needs. In recent years, the company has also utilized its proprietary system to create Taiwan-made care robots for international markets.
We live in an era of smart healthcare. Who can give healthcare institutions flexible solutions that meet real clinical needs? The answer may surprise you—a software developer focused on government tax systems.
Mobisnet Technology’s journey began with the development of online portals for Taiwan’s National Taxation Bureau. This project provided the company with extensive experience in integrating tax, household registration, and land administration systems. The solid foundation paved the way for its expansion into the healthcare and long-term care sectors.
From Taxation to Long-Term Care
Today, Mobisnet has evolved from its roots in taxation to develop ECare, a long-term care system designed for Taiwan. It is also one of the few Taiwanese companies that is expanding from software into the research, development, and manufacturing of medical robotics. The company has successfully entered the Japanese market and is expanding its reach into Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
“The healthcare sector wasn’t initially part of our plans. We began by designing a system to facilitate patients’ transition to home care in Chiayi County,” recalled Liao Yunghui, Vice President of Mobisnet. At that time, all five major teaching hospitals in Chiayi were entering patient discharge care data into this system.
Mobisnet gained valuable insight into clinical workflows and patient care by closely observing the demanding schedules of nurses, who work three shifts per day. “We accompanied clinical staff during their morning and evening shifts to create a system that aligns with their needs,” Liao explained.
Mobisnet later worked on a 300-bed private residential long-term care facility and a nursing home within a regional hospital. This experience highlighted key differences in processes and requirements between hospital-affiliated and independent institutions, leading to modular and customizable system designs.
Breakthrough of a Data Integration Veteran
Leveraging its expertise in tax process integration, Mobisnet developed its long-term care and medical systems with great attention to detail. “We carefully designed numerous functions to prepare for future big data applications and cross-system integration,” Liao stated.
Their "expert systems" approach originates from Ye Huanchang, General Manager and Technical Director of Mobisnet. Early in his career, he studied under Professor Chang San-cheng at National Taiwan University, who is currently the Mayor of Taoyuan City. Ye played a crucial role in introducing expert system technology to Taiwan. "This provides our system with a logic and parametric design more advanced than that of other vendors," Ye said.
Hospitals have praised Mobisnet's integration capabilities. According to Ye, the system seamlessly connects nursing homes and hospitals for information about medication, billing, and out-of-pocket expenses, allowing for automatic data synchronization when a patient transitions to home care. Currently, Mobisnet supports over ten million care records and uses AI to create patient care plans, reducing the workload for nurses.
Four-in-One: Building Taiwan's “Care as a Service”
"In Taiwan, we are the only company that offers a fully integrated system that includes all four care models: residential institutions, day care, home nursing, and home care services," Liao shared enthusiastically, emphasizing “seamless care” for all parties involved.
Mobisnet's most significant competitive advantage lies in its ability to offer both modular system development and rapid customization to meet a variety of needs. Although all daycare centers provide similar services, there are significant variations in clinical cultures that lead to different nursing protocols and assessment criteria. Mobisnet's flexible design effectively addresses these differences.
In-depth patient care records also form a crucial foundation for AI development. “Our AI functionality analyzes a patient's six-month history of physical condition, medication, nutrition, and disease data. Combined with external literature knowledge from GPT, it generates care records and recommendations for clinical staff to review,” Liao said. This approach alleviates the workload, enhances care quality, and boosts decision-making efficiency.
Customized Robots Made in Taiwan
Mobisnet began integrating its system with hardware in response to a global crisis. In late 2018, the company introduced Israel's TEMI robot in Taiwan, focusing on developing integrated hardware-software solutions. By late 2019, the COVID pandemic had emerged, and the robot quickly became essential in the fight against the virus, being used for testing, medication delivery, and video consultations.
Liao emphasized the urgent need to develop their own robots. "We couldn't modify existing hardware. Clients wanted taller, heavier, or customized versions, which were not feasible. Therefore, we decided to create our own." As a result, Mobisnet initiated an independent robotics research and development program, producing robots that are entirely made in Taiwan. They independently design the exteriors, develop modules, use Taiwanese components, and integrate their own patient care systems.
Mobisnet currently offers autonomous mobile robot (AMR) chassis modules with load capacities of 50 kg, 100 kg, and 300 kg. The upper structure of these robots can be customized for various applications, including meal and drug delivery, guidance, and audiovisual health education. The modules also feature support for AI recognition, voice interaction, autonomous navigation, and elevator control. These robots have been exported to Japan and have attracted the interest of Toyota's supply chain.
When compared to European and American brands, which are often challenging to modify, and Chinese brands that raise cybersecurity concerns, there are notable advantages in terms of modularity, customizability, API availability, reasonable pricing, and reliable security. This precise positioning has allowed Mobisnet to penetrate the high-end market successfully.
In addition to Japan, the company is expanding into Southeast Asia, Europe, and the US. "We're not forcing our way in; instead, we hope to collaborate with local hospitals to market our entire Taiwan-proven system and robots," Liao noted. Taiwan's integration of innovative technology into clinical practice has the potential to set a benchmark for healthcare in Asia. "Once hospitals see tangible results, they'll be willing to work with us."
A Smart Hospital Planner
As we move towards a future with smart hospitals and at-home healthcare, Mobisnet has helped several hospitals design intelligent service workflows for their new campuses. These projects include the implementation of robots for delivery and navigation, as well as equipment for handling surgical instruments. They are also integrating medical record systems, medication information, and AI-powered alerts.
Liao believes that robots are more than just functional tools. They are crucial in the smart hospital ecosystem. “Mobisnet goes beyond offering products. We aim to make good use of trends in hospital transformation. Starting with planning, we help design intelligent systems for personnel, logistics, and equipment workflows. Our value lies in integration.”
"We aspire to be smart hospital planners, rather than merely vendors of robots," Liao affirmed.
（Producer, Writer: Sophie Y. Wu／Adapted by Andrew Wang／Editor: Lihua Wang)
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