Life

DOH to open door for expat Taiwan medicos

The DOH is planning to offer provisional specialist licenses to expatriate Taiwan doctors who return to practice medicine in remote parts of the island. (CNA)

• Publication Date：06/13/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today

The ROC Department of Health is looking to lure expatriate Taiwan physicians home to serve in parts of the island where qualified doctors are in short supply.

The program could kick off as early as August, the DOH said June 12.

“Almost everywhere I have traveled, from Washington, D.C., to Geneva, Switzerland, I’ve run into expat doctors who told me they want to return to Taiwan to re-establish their roots,” Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta said.

The problem for such doctors is that their specialist medical qualifications in fields such as cardiology are not recognized in Taiwan, the DOH said.

As an incentive to return to Taiwan, the DOH will provide provisional licenses to those who are based in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the U.K. or U.S., and who are licensed in one of the five broad areas of general medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics or emergency medicine, according to Shih Chung-liang, director of the DOH Bureau of Medical Affairs.

“Many doctors who have accumulated decades of experience overseas, but have not yet reached retirement age, want to come back and would be suitable candidates to provide services in small towns and villages around the island,” Shih said.

“A lot of them received their medical training in Taiwan and then went abroad to obtain their specialist licenses. If they return home, under current regulations they can only practice general or family medicine. If they want to practice their specialty, they have to take a test in Taiwan to obtain a license, and many of them might not be able to pass such a test now,” Shih explained.

The provisional licenses will only be valid for remote areas around Taiwan. After practicing medicine for at least three years in these regions, the doctors will be given permanent specialist licenses, he said.

Only those doctors whose overseas specialist licenses are still valid will be able to take part in the DOH program, he added.

Launching the program only requires revisions by the DOH to existing regulations, and would not need legislative approval, the department said.