The Legislative Yuan on Monday passed a bill to resolve medical disputes by requiring people and hospitals go through mediation in civil and criminal cases before resorting to the courts.
Under the bill — which is to be implemented pending an announcement by the Executive Yuan — medical institutions are prohibited from refusing to provide medical records to patients or their families and attorneys during the mediation process.
Those who contravene the rules would be fined NT$50,000 to NT$250,000, with further financial sanctions if the breach is not corrected, the bill says.
The bill was proposed by the Cabinet on April 28.
In addition, the Cabinet said that to avoid medical disputes, some doctors have shunned certain areas of medicine where the risk of disputes with patients is statistically higher.
The bill requires local governments to set up their own mediation committees, at which patients or their families and attorneys, and doctors can discuss disputes and work to reach an agreement.
Mediation would continue for up to three months, and if both sides agree, for an additional three months.
Mediation committees should include medical experts, legal professionals and those with necessary knowledge from third parties, and can have between nine and 45 members, the bill says.
It also requires members from outside the medical profession, while males and females must have at least one-third representation.
The bill requires hospitals to establish a special task force within five days of a medical dispute occurring to communicate with patients, their families and attorneys.
The task force is expected to provide necessary assistance to patients and their families or attorneys to promote better communication.
Medical disputes that are under investigation or that are before a court when the new law goes into force would not be subject to the new requirements.
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
LIKE-MINDED COUNTRIES: Despite the threats from outside, Taiwan and Lithuania thrived and developed their economies, former president Tsai Ing-wen said Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Saturday thanked Lithuania for its support of Taiwan, saying that both countries are united as partners in defending democracy. Speaking at a reception organized by the Lithuania-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Group welcoming her on her first visit to the Baltic state, Tsai said that while she was president from 2016 to last year, many Lithuanian “friends” visited Taiwan. “And I told myself I have to be here. I am very happy that I am here, a wonderful country and wonderful people,” Tsai said. Taiwan and Lithuania are in similar situations as both are neighbors to authoritarian countries, she
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) is to visit the UK during her ongoing European trip, which originally included only Lithuania and Denmark, her office said today. Tsai departed Taiwan for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark, marking her second visit to the continent since her two-term presidency ended in May last year. Her office issued a statement today saying that Tsai would also visit the UK "for a few days," during which she is to meet with UK politicians and Taiwanese professionals, and visit academic and research institutions. Following Tsai's stop in Denmark, she is to visit the
RSS