The Reduction of Drug Abuse in Taiwan and Its Information System Application-An IT Enabled Service Innovation in E-Government

Abstract

The drug abuse problem is one of the toughest issues currently facing governments around the world. Typically, drug offenders are arrested, jailed for a time and then released, but there is high probability that they will become repeat offenders after leaving prison. This typical solution is a significant waste of administrative resources and fails to reduce the rate of recidivism among drug abusers. Recently, more countries are treating drug abuse offenders as patients, offering them drug substitution treatment in order to reduce dependency on illegal drugs and lower the risk of AIDS infection. Patients go to work as normal, live normally, and retain their human dignity. In this study, we use the service blueprinting method to show how Taiwan`s drug abuse reduction service cares for drug offenders. The service integrates several Taiwanese governmental ministries by using a single information management system which is triggered automatically when the drug abuse offender leaves prison. We analyze this case using the Service Open System View framework and provide suggestions for improving the existing service. From the academic viewpoint of service science, this study shares the case of Taiwan`s drug abuse reduction service and provides suggestions for best practices which can improve existing services.