First Hospital at Home Asia-Pacific Conference brings international HITH community together in Taiwan

The first Hospital at Home Asia-Pacific Conference (APHaH 2026) was held in Taipei, Taiwan in June 2026, bringing together more than 400 delegates, speakers and healthcare leaders from Taiwan and around the world.

The conference marked an important milestone for the growing Hospital at Home and Hospital in the Home movement across the Asia-Pacific region, providing an opportunity to share different models of care, clinical innovation and experiences of delivering hospital-level care outside traditional hospital walls.

Strong national support for care closer to home

The conference was opened by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, with Taiwan's Minister for Health opening the second day of proceedings. The opening included discussion of plans to increase investment in community healthcare, providing an important backdrop to conversations about the future role of Hospital at Home in Taiwan.

The scale and geography of Taiwan also provided an interesting setting for the conference. With a population comparable to Australia concentrated on an island less than half the size of Tasmania, and significant mountainous areas in the east, Taiwan faces its own challenges in determining where and how healthcare should be delivered.

Seeing Hospital at Home in practice

A highlight of the conference program was the opportunity for international delegates to participate in home and clinic visits before the formal conference, providing a firsthand look at how Hospital at Home care is being delivered in Taiwan.

The visits demonstrated practical approaches to bringing hospital-level capability into patients' homes.

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Photographs from the visits show HITH nurses preparing home-care packs and equipment at Ai Ning Clinic in New Taipei City, as well as HITH physician Dr Liao demonstrating a portable X-ray machine used to support care outside hospital.

Delegates also visited services including an infectious diseases HITH clinic at Taoyuan Hospital and met with paediatric respiratory HITH staff from National Taiwan University Children's Hospital.  

These visits were an opportunity to move beyond presentations and see the people, equipment and systems required to provide care in patients' homes.

Building an Asia-Pacific HITH community

The conference also provided an important opportunity to strengthen relationships between Hospital at Home organisations across the region. Memorandums of Understanding are being progressed with countries including Australia, Japan and Korea, supporting greater international collaboration and exchange of knowledge.

The organisers plan for the Asia-Pacific Hospital at Home Conference to be held every two years in different countries across the region.

Alongside the scientific and clinical program, delegates had the opportunity to experience Taiwanese hospitality, including conference gatherings featuring traditional Taiwanese food.

For the Hospital in the Home Society Australasia, the conference represents another step towards stronger connections between HITH clinicians and organisations across our region. While models of care differ between health systems, there is a shared interest in developing safe, high-quality hospital-level care that can be delivered in patients' homes.

As Hospital at Home continues to develop internationally, opportunities such as APHaH provide an important forum for learning from each other, sharing evidence and building a stronger Asia-Pacific HITH community.