The Department of Health (DOH) will acquire six more mobile clinics to extend the reach of health care services into remote areas of the country, paying for the vehicles with the revenues from the increased health surcharge on cigarettes, a DOH official said yesterday.
Anticipating that the government’s tax revenues from a hike in the surcharge on cigarettes from June 1 will top NT$30 billion (US$910 million) per year, DOH Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) instructed that a portion of the revenues be used to provide medical treatment for residents in mountainous and outlying areas, said Shih Chung-liang (石崇良), director-general of the DOH’s Bureau of Medical Affairs.
As a result, 4 percent of the anticipated additional revenues — an estimated NT$900 million — will be used for areas lacking medical resources, Shih said.
Because people in remote areas, including 30 mountainous townships and 18 outlying islands, have limited access to health services, Shih said the DOH has been making efforts on three fronts — providing free vaccines, strengthening recruitment and training for medical professionals, and improving medical care quality at hospitals in the areas.
Another important task of the agency is improving the delivery of health care to remote areas. Under an integrated program for medical treatment consultation, the DOH has been collaborating with regional hospitals on the dispatch of physicians to provide medical services on a regular basis, Shih said.
Taian Township (泰安) in Miaoli County, as well as Heping (和平) and Lishan (梨山) townships in Taichung County, have the most pressing need for mobile clinics, the Bureau of Nursing and Health Services Development said.
The DOH plans to purchase 11 dental chairs and six vehicles that will be equipped with different types of equipment, including X-ray, ultrasound and cancer detection units, dependent on the needs of the residents they will serve, it said.
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