Minister of health and welfare-designate Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延) yesterday said the new administration would significantly simplify the hospital accreditation system for next year, and include post-graduate year and resident physicians under the Labor Standards Act (勞動基準法) by 2020.
Attending a meeting at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Lin briefly spoke with the media yesterday morning.
The hospital accreditation system has helped improve the overall quality of hospitals in the past, but in recent years medical personnel have often complained about complicated paperwork and other tasks given by the ministry, so it is time to reform the system, he said.
Photo: CNA
“We will significantly simplify and rationalize the hospital accreditation system for next year, making the improvement of healthcare quality and patients’ safety the two top priorities,” Lin said.
A hospital accreditation system reform task force is to be established after May 20, which is also to discuss whether the accreditation system should be separated from the National Health Insurance payment system, he said, adding that he expects the preliminary report to be done by next month, negotiations with medical professionals to start in July, and the new system to be enforced next year.
“We will definitely include post-graduate and resident physicians in the Labor Standards Act within four years,” Lin said.
He said the inclusion of other types of physicians would require more discussion with the Ministry of Labor and the amendment of two laws — the Labor Standards Act and the Medical Care Act (醫療法) — so it would also need support from lawmakers.
However, problems that must be dealt with after post-graduate and resident physicians are included in the act are the training hours of post-graduate physicians and a reduced number of physicians, Lin said, so discussions would be held on whether training methods should be changed, whether schools should accept more medical students and whether medical assistants are needed.
The Doctors’ Working Conditions Reform Task Force (醫師勞動條件改革小組) issued a statement in response saying: “We are completely unable to accept Lin saying that it would take four years to prepare supporting measures before including physicians into the Labor Standards Act.”
It urged the ministry to hold meetings with the Ministry of Labor immediately after May 20, and protect physicians’ labor rights by including them under the act as soon as possible.
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