The government yesterday launched an urgent care centers (UCCs) pilot program for providing urgent medical care over weekends and on holidays, Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said.
Shih also announced payment bonuses offered to clinics that are open during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year.
The policies aim to alleviate emergency room overcrowding, which cannot be solved with just one measure, Shih said, adding that maintaining sufficient emergency response capacity outside working hours is critical.
Photo: CNA
Although Taiwan’s emergency rooms are busy, most people return home without needing observation, as about 70 percent are classified as triage level 3, and more than 10 percent are classified as level 4 or 5, he said.
Triage level 1 includes the most severe cases requiring immediate attention, while level 5 is non-urgent.
About 80 percent of emergency room patients are not in life-threatening condition, Shi said.
Emergency medical care requirements are no less demanding on holidays than regular days, and pediatric cases are even more, he said.
The ministry has set up 13 UCCs to address urgent care needs on holidays and ease emergency room overcrowding, he said, adding that the program has a NT$300 million (US$9.76 million) budget.
The copayment at UCCs would be NT$150, the same as emergency treatments at primary care clinics, the minister said.
The program, in its pilot phase, would be evaluated based on public response and effectiveness, and expanded if successful, Shih said.
The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) also plans to double its reimbursement to medical facilities for emergency and in-patient care over next year’s Lunar New Year holiday, including consultation, nursing and pharmaceutical fees, he said.
The ministry would offer additional 30 to 100 percent bonuses to medical facilities open for out-patient services during the nine-day holiday from Feb. 14 to 22, aiming to maintain enough medical service capacity so that medical personnel can rest and emergency rooms do not become overcrowded, Shih said.
NHIA Director-General Chen Lian-yu (陳亮妤) said the administration would allocate NT$1.36 billion to the Lunar New Year bonus program, and would discuss offering bonuses to clinics that stay open to provide urgent care on holidays.
Clinics specializing in family medicine, internal medicine, surgery, pediatrics, otolaryngology and emergency medicine would be eligible, and details would be finalized in early next month, Chen said.
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