The new name-based online purchasing system of face masks began its trial run on March 12. The new system allows the public to purchase masks through a website or via a mobile phone app. However, the sudden large traffic volume overwhelmed the server and caused a system crash soon after the launch.


The National Health Insurance app suddenly begins to crash frequently starting at 9 a.m. on Thursday. The sudden influx of users trying to purchase the masks via the app and the website has overwhelmed the system and caused the crash. The crash has also caused the phone app to malfunction: by 11 a.m., only about 20,000 out of the 370,000 users have successfully placed orders for the masks.

The system was jammed, and many users couldn't complete the buying procedure. We have of course prepared for the situation yesterday. I hope that, by the time the public logs in, the speed of our system would increase significantly. We prepared everything yesterday, however, the system's capacity (to handle large number of users) is something we still need to work on.

The National Health Insurance Administration has admitted that the system was overwhelmed by the sudden influx of online users, and that their staff members are continuing to troubleshoot and streamline the system. The administration has suggested that the public can use the website first to purchase surgical masks, as it runs more smoothly despite the need for a card reader.

I'll wait for a few days. The system is in a little bit of a mess when it first goes online.

The mobile phone app runs a bit slowly. I had been using the app before (the mask sale), and I'm worried that the updated name-based mask rationing will cause the app to crash even more frequently.

The surgical mask preorder will last for 7 days. If the total order exceeds the total quantity of masks available, the system will make a draw and inform those who successfully make preorders to pick up their masks at local convenience stores. The convenience stores have also streamlined the pick-up process. Customers would only need to enter their personal information along with their proof of payment to pick up their masks.



上午九點一到、健保快易通App卻呈現閃退狀況，口罩網購上午九點同步在網站和App開賣，瞬間湧入的流量大到網站瞬間當機。不過，最卡的還是手機App，截至上午11點為止，有37萬多人使用，但是成功預訂的、只有兩萬多人。

健保署長 李伯璋表示：「那就是塞住，就沒有辦法完成整個一個步驟，當然昨天我們就已經，有做一個比較好的準備，就是我們希望說，在民眾要進去看的時候，那系統我們就變成從1G變成4G，昨天就弄好了，問題是後面的部分，也就是變成它的容量，我們還需要努力。」

健保署坦言，確實瞬間流量超過壓力負荷，持續在搶修優化系統當中，建議民眾可以優先使用電腦網頁版，雖然需要讀卡機，但是網頁會較為順暢。

民眾表示：「觀望一下，因為剛開始上路，可能比較亂之類的。」

民眾表示：「那個App我覺得有點慢，因為我本身就有在用這個App，但是怕說口罩2.0實名制上路之後，這個App會更當。」

口罩網路預購將持續七天，若是預購人數超過可供給口罩上限，將會抽籤；預購成功者，3月26日起可以在超商取貨。業者也做好準備，只要在事務機輸入個人資料和付款成功資料，就能印出單據到櫃檯取貨。