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.
Taiwan is gearing up to celebrate the New Year at events across the country, headlined by the annual countdown and Taipei 101 fireworks display at midnight. Many of the events are to be livesteamed online. See below for lineups and links: Taipei Taipei’s New Year’s Party 2026 is to begin at 7pm and run until 1am, with the theme “Sailing to the Future.” South Korean girl group KARA is headlining the concert at Taipei City Hall Plaza, with additional performances by Amber An (安心亞), Nick Chou (周湯豪), hip-hop trio Nine One One (玖壹壹), Bii (畢書盡), girl group Genblue (幻藍小熊) and more. The festivities are to
Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain, while crowds in Taipei braved the elements to watch Taipei 101’s display. South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks struck midnight in Auckland, with a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball was to drop in New York’s Times Square. The five-minute display involved 3,500 fireworks launched from the 240m Sky Tower. Smaller community events were canceled across New Zealand’s
‘IRRESPONSIBLE’: Beijing’s constant disruption of the ‘status quo’ in the Taiwan Strait has damaged peace, stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region, MOFA said The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China’s launch of another military drill around Taiwan, saying such actions are a “unilateral provocation” that destabilizes regional peace and stability. China should immediately stop the irresponsible and provocative actions, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said, after the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) yesterday announced the start of a new round of joint exercises around Taiwan by the army, navy and air force, which it said were approaching “from different directions.” Code-named “Justice Mission 2025,” the exercises would be conducted in the Taiwan Strait and in areas north, southwest, southeast and east of Taiwan
UNDER WAY: The contract for advanced sensor systems would be fulfilled in Florida, and is expected to be completed by June 2031, the Pentagon said Lockheed Martin has been given a contract involving foreign military sales to Taiwan to meet what Washington calls “an urgent operational need” of Taiwan’s air force, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. The contract has a ceiling value of US$328.5 million, with US$157.3 million in foreign military sales funds obligated at the time of award, the Pentagon said in a statement. “This contract provides for the procurement and delivery of 55 Infrared Search and Track Legion Enhanced Sensor Pods, processors, pod containers and processor containers required to meet the urgent operational need of the Taiwan air force,” it said. The contract’s work would be
RSS