Post-COVID-19 Reforms of the Communicable Disease Control Medical Network

DOI: 10.6524/EB.202607_42(13).0001

Ting-Yi Chiang^*, Hui-Yun Kao, Kuei-Li Huang, Fei-Jung Pan, Peng Kuo, Sung-Yin Chen, Yi-Chien Chih

2026 Vol.42 NO.13

Correspondence Author： Ting-Yi Chiang*

Abstract：

    The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic lasted for over three years, posing an unprecedented test to the infectious disease medical response systems of countries worldwide and leading Taiwan to recognize the institutional limitations of its current Communicable Disease Control Medical Network within its existing framework. We reviewed the development and operational experience of Taiwan’s infectious disease control network and summarized the challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding patient admission strategies, medical capacity dispatch, cross-system collaboration, and the deployment of professional manpower. Drawing on post-pandemic initiatives proposed by the World Health Organization and healthcare system reforms in the United States and Japan, this paper outlines international trends and adaptable institutional designs, and further synthesizes reform consensus derived from domestic expert opinions and policy discussions to propose enhancement strategies for Taiwan’s post-pandemic infectious disease control network. These strategies include strengthening the legal foundation, introducing a competency-based tiered care framework, establishing high-level care capacity for high-consequence pathogens, reinforcing professional manpower in infectious disease specialties, and injecting resources to strengthen local preparedness and guidance functions, with the ultimate goal of ensuring that the reformed infectious disease medical system can maintain stable operations during ordinary times while possessing the resilience for rapid expansion and adjustment during crises to effectively respond to future emerging infectious disease threats.