To facilitate communication between doctors and patients, enhance medical quality, and ensure patient safety, our hospital has actively participated in the National Healthcare Quality Awards (NHQA) competition organized by the Hospital Accreditation and Medical Quality Improvement Foundation over the years. In addition to sharing our own experiences, we have also engaged with various institutions during the event to learn from each other, aiming to collectively improve the welfare of patients in our hospital.

On February 26, 2024, the 24th National Healthcare Quality Awards (NHQA) ceremony was held at the Fu Hua International Convention Center. General Director General Hung Yi-Ren led a team, including Director Huang Tsai-Wang from the Medical Affairs Planning and Management Office, Director Huang Yi-Jia from the Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Director Song Zhi-Jian from the Nephrology Department, and the members from the Evidence-based Medicine Center and Simulated Medicine Center, to attend and receive awards.

Our hospital was honored with 1 Diamond Award, 1 Gold Award, and 3 Honorable Mentions in the competition, demonstrating outstanding achievements in medical quality and patient safety. The details of the awards are as follows:

(I) Outstanding Medical Performance Category

1."Diamond Award": A team composed of members from Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Chinese Medicine Pharmacy established a collaborative care model for COVID-19 patients combining traditional Chinese and Western medicine. They standardized the quality of Chinese herbal preparations and established a collaborative care process for COVID-19, serving as a reference for national clinical care guidelines. They also collaborated with the National Institute of Chinese Medicine Research of the Ministry of Health and Welfare to develop Taiwan's Qingguan No. 1, contributing to COVID-19 prevention efforts in Taiwan and the world.

2."Gold Award": A team from our hospital's Nephrology Department pioneered a new classification for abnormal blood potassium diagnosis, Gitelman gene screening panel, and AI-assisted diagnosis. They collaborated with Academia Sinica, foreign scholars, and the industry to develop screening panels and wearable devices. In 2022, they were honored with the Gold Award at the 24th National Biomedical Quality Awards and SNQ National Quality Mark, leading in the field of abnormal blood potassium worldwide.

(II) Simulated Scenario Category

1."Honorable Mention" for Newcomers: A dynamic competitive team composed of newly admitted hospital physicians and intensive care nurses from our hospital. They always filled the training sessions with laughter and demonstrated excellent teamwork using the concept of Team Resource Management (TRM) to provide mutual assistance and cooperation in patient care during the competition, earning high praise from the judges!

2."Honorable Mention" for Critical Care Team: A competitive team composed of emergency department physicians, intensive care nursing supervisors, deputy nursing supervisors, and emergency department nurses. With the assistance of department heads and senior colleagues, they faced sudden emergency situations during the competition, performed appropriate immediate intubation-related procedures, and reviewed the medical process afterward for improvement, showcasing their excellent cooperation even in normal times!

(III) Evidence-based Medicine Category

"Honorable Mention" for Newcomers: A team composed of hospital physicians, intensive care nurses, and interns from the Department of Internal Medicine. They combined literature review with current medical practices to provide the most appropriate treatment recommendations for patients. Although this is the first time for many team members participated in this type of competition, they showed the spirit of fearlessness and will continue to deepen their involvement in evidence-based medicine in the future.

The results of this competition demonstrate our hospital's dedication and efforts to medical quality on a regular basis. In the future, adhering to the core principle of "patient-centeredness," we will continue to improve medical operations and participate in external competitions to strive for honors for the military and move towards the goal of becoming an international medical center.