The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) yesterday outlined public policies on cosmetics, insurance and government funeral services to be implemented from Tuesday next week.
The first of the health ministry’s three policies would require importers or manufacturers of cosmetics for infants, lips and eyes, and toothpastes and mouthwashes to register their Product Information File with the Food and Drug Administration.
After the file is registered, it would be reviewed to confirm the product’s safety, the ministry said.
Photo: Chung Li-hua, Taipei Times
Under the second policy, National Health Insurance (NHI) payments for 1,068 diagnosis-related groups would be adjusted from next month to better match clinical practice engagements.
The change, made in response to adjustments to NHI payments of single-diagnosis and treatment services, was made through an amendment to the National Health Insurance Fee Schedule and Reference List for Medical Services (全民健康保險醫療服務給付項目及支付標準).
Third, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) is to launch an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) promotional program for NHI-covered surgeries.
ERAS is a multidisciplinary approach that uses a combination of patient-centered, evidence-based methods to improve patient care and recovery after surgeries.
ERAS medical teams might include healthcare professionals from anesthesiology, surgery, internal medicine, rehabilitation, nursing or nutrition departments. They would help patients through the preoperative, intraoperative and postoperative phases of surgery.
The promotional program would accelerate postoperative recovery and shorten hospital stays, the NHIA said, urging healthcare facilities to provide ERAS services to improve care and reduce healthcare costs.
NHIA Department of Medical Affairs Director Liu Lin-i (劉林義) said the program would first focus on knee or hip replacement surgeries for people aged 70 or older and those at high risk of complications from anesthesia.
A NT$60 million (US$2.02 million) budget would be allocated to the program, which is estimated to benefit about 2,600 people, he said, adding that eligibility for the program would gradually be expanded.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of the Interior is to allow the next of kin of police officers, volunteer police, civil defense personnel, firefighters, volunteer firefighters or other personnel engaged in official duties who have died in the line of duty to lay them to rest using public mortuary and burial facilities free of charge.
According to the policy, being implemented through amendments to the Mortuary Service Administration Act (殯葬管理條例), local governments would be supervised to amend their ordinances or handle relevant cases through special programs, the ministry said.
Additionally under the amendments, the management fees collected by operators of privately owned public cemeteries and remains storage facilities should be separated into “daily expenditures” and “emergency expenditures” held in earmarked accounts.
Three supplementary regulations, including the Mortuary Services Administration Act Enforcement Regulations (殯葬管理條例施行細則), are also to come into effect on Tuesday next week, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, in compliance with a National Security Council resolution, buildings with air raid shelters are to be included in the items for building public safety inspections and reporting, to ensure the air raid shelters are safe and that building residents cooperate with the police department’s evacuation drills, it said.
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