The National Health Insurance Administration yesterday announced that the Post-Acute Care (PAC) program is to be expanded next month to include traumatic nerve injuries, fragility fractures, heart failure and frail elderly patients.
The administration began the program in 2014 with cerebral stroke patients, transferring them to regional hospitals with PAC medical staff for rehabilitation, after they received emergency treatment at medical centers.
The program expanded to include burn injury patients in September 2015 and as of today there are 176 hospitals and 38 teams in the program, the administration said.
There has been significant improvement in the recovery of cerebral stroke patients through the program over the past three years, NHIA Deputy Director-General Tsai Shu-ling (蔡淑鈴) said, adding that the risk of rehospitalization and emergency treatment within 90 days has dropped by more than 50 percent.
Statistics show that patient recovery was improved by receiving intense rehabilitation treatment in the critical time shortly after sustaining an acute injury, she said.
The administration has allocated an additional NT$150 million (US$4.94 million) to expand the PAC program to include four more types of patients starting from Saturday, which is expected to benefit about another 17,000 people each year, she said.
The program is to be reviewed once every three years, Tsai said, adding that the administration hopes to expand the program to include more types of acute injury if results are positive.
In related news, the Regulations Governing the Product Names and Labeling of Prepackaged Butter, Cream, Margarine and Fat Spreads (市售奶油、乳脂、人造奶油與脂肪抹醬的品名及標示規定), announced by the Minister of Health and Welfare on Feb. 6, are also to be implemented on Saturday.
The regulation stipulates that “butter” must contain at least 80 percent milk fat, while “cream” should have at least 10 percent milk fat, but less than 80 percent.
For margarine and fat spreads made from a blend of fats, oils, water and food additives, “margarine” should contain at least 80 percent fat, while “fat spreads” should contain at least 10 percent, but less than 80 percent fat, while neither can be labeled “vegetable butter.”
Other food-safety related policies that are to be implemented include a requirement that table salt be labeled to indicate whether it contains potassium iodide.
Packaged creamers that contain less than 50 percent milk or milk powder are also required to reveal such information on their labels.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS