Opinion

Just what the doctor ordered

(CNA photos)

• Publication Date：06/23/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today

Taiwan’s health system is one of the finest of its kind in the world. High patient satisfaction levels, impressive treatment numbers and well-equipped facilities contribute to making it a model for many nations. But this state of affairs is set for further improvement once a Department of Health initiative encouraging expatriate ROC doctors to return and practice on the island takes effect.

Under the program, which could commence in August, the island’s multitude of physicians plying their trade in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K. and U.S. will be welcomed home with open arms. If currently licensed in the specialties of emergency, family, gynecology, pediatrics and surgery, they immediately qualify for provisional permits enabling them to work as specialists in Taiwan.

But these licenses are not golden passes to set up shop in the cities where a surplus of specialists competes for patients. They in fact represent a three-year commitment to positions in small towns and villages islandwide, after which program participants will be given permanent specialist accreditation.

This initiative represents a departure from existing regulations restricting doctors who completed their training abroad to the field of family medicine. Those wishing to continue practicing as specialists must pass a Taiwan certification test—a demanding task that has proven unappealing in the past to senior physicians.

By relaxing this requirement, the DOH has in one stroke tapped into a vast pool of expatriate doctors mulling returns to Taiwan but discouraged by the prospect of being limited in their professional pursuits. After living abroad for years and gaining valuable medical experience, many of them long to resettle on the island, needing only a little leeway from the DOH to make the jump.

There is no question that the program, which is a win-win-win outcome for the DOH, doctors and patients, represents a strong step forward for the ROC government in addressing the challenge of delivering beefed-up medical infrastructure in rural and remote areas. It is also the best option for the nation’s health system as this injection of talent boosts treatment standards in the short term and gives local doctors a valuable opportunity to learn from colleagues with broader skill sets.

But more importantly, the initiative sends a strong message to residents in those communities off the beaten track that the government has not forgotten them and is doing what it can to provide access to a wider range of talented, qualified and experienced health professionals. Although a noticeable improvement in physician numbers will not occur overnight, there is every indication the program can succeed and play its part in lifting levels of medical care in all parts of the nation.

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