Taiwan launched a single-payer National Health Insurance program on March 1, 1995. Since then 99.9% of Taiwan’s population was enrolled. Foreigners in Taiwan are also eligible for this program. The database of this program contains registration files and original claim data for reimbursement. Large computerized databases derived from this system is maintained by the National Health Insurance Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan. This database is provided to scientists for research purposes.

The Taiwan Cancer Registry, a population-based cancer registry, was founded in 1979. Hospitals with greater than 50-bed capacity which provide outpatient and hospitalized cancer care are recruited to participate in reporting all newly diagnosed malignant neoplasms to the registry. A total of 845,686 cases have been collected between 2003-2016.
The Taiwan Cancer Registry is organized and funded by the Department (Ministry) of Health of the executive branch of the central government. The National Public Health Association has been contracted to operate the registry and organized an advisory board.
The registry's primary goal is to survey the incidence of cancer in Taiwan. It also participates in planning and evaluation of cancer control and prevention programs. Cancer incidence data appear each year in a special bulletin and in an annual registry report published by the Ministry of Health. Analyses and observed trends are published in annual reports or in medical journals. The registry also provides a database regarding cancer for various research efforts.

The Taiwan Biobank was established as an infrastructure for biomedical research in Taiwan. A large collection of biological specimens, data on environmental exposures and lifestyles, and other related health information have been obtained through large-scale invitation and long-term follow-up of prospective participants. The specimens and information are available to biomedical researchers in Taiwan on an application basis.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death in the world. Taiwan Stroke Registry (TSR) is the first nationwide effort in Taiwan to establish a reliable stroke database for assessing the quality of stroke care and identifying areas that require improvement. TSR started in 2006 and has a nation-wide network of stroke centers in 64 hospitals with more than 140,000 stroke patients registered to monitor the quality of stroke prevention and care. Although the raw data from the TSR are not open to researchers, site investigators from all participating hospitals can submit their study proposals to the TSR research committee. TSR database aims to conduct the trial feasibility, site selection, and data analysis in a timely manner for sponsors and investigators.

TSR research committee contact information:
China Medical University Hospital Clinical Trial Center
- Ms. Cheng-Li, Lin
E-mail: orangechengli@gmail.com
- Ms. Mei-Chen, Lin
E-mail: coolindm@gmail.com