A draft amendment to the Medical Care Act (醫療法) that would make medical personnel liable to face criminal punishment in legal disputes only if they are found to have acted “deliberately” or “violated their duty of care” would protect medical personnel while jeopardizing compensation for victims, legislators and civic groups said yesterday.
An increasing number of lawsuits concerning medical malpractice and other medical disputes have caused shortages of doctors. This led the Executive Yuan to approve an amendment proposed by the Department of Health last week to rationalize the possible penalties medical personnel face when involved in medical disputes.
However, Democratic Progressive Party legislators Wu Yi-chen (吳宜臻) and Chen Chieh-ju (陳節如), joined by members of civic groups, said they were disappointed with the draft amendment’s emphasis on medical personnel’s rights and urged legislators to protect the rights of patients when they review the Cabinet’s amendment.
Huang Shu-ying (黃淑英), the chairperson of civic group Taiwan Women’s Link, said that what patients really want in a medical dispute are three things:
“The first is an apology, the second is the truth and the last is monetary compensation,” Huang said.
Although the Cabinet has also proposed a draft act on compensation in medical disputes and medical malpractice as a joint measure to protect patients’ rights, the groups said details of the compensation mechanism such as when it would be given are not outlined in the draft act, so they fear it could become a “blank check.”
Eva Teng (滕西華), a spokeswoman for the National Health Insurance Civic Surveillance Alliance, said: “In a situation of asymmetric information, where knowledge and economic status are seriously imbalanced, the patients often end up as the loser if they are forced to enter a negotiation mechanism.”
They asked the government to review the draft act again and bring the patients’ rights into consideration by adding articles such as demanding that the government provide assistance to patients in medical disputes.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS