The Ministry of Health and Welfare has established a center to coordinate agencies on medical supply-related issues, it said on Tuesday.
A global shortage of raw materials and the war in Ukraine has caused supply issues for some medicines used in Taiwan, the ministry said.
Government agencies handling information on medical supply issues would work with the center to develop a coordinated response, it said.
Photo: CNA
Supply information for conventional medicine is handled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), while traditional Chinese medicine matters are under the purview of the Department of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, and rare clinical medications for children are handled by the Department of Medical Affairs.
Information on the supply of certain emergency medications and special nutritional supplements for the treatment of rare diseases is gathered by the Health Promotion Administration, while information on vaccines and drugs to treat infectious diseases is managed by the Centers for Disease Control.
Aside from following up on reports of drug shortages, the ministry’s center would develop policies to prevent shortages, Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said, adding that this would include promoting the use of domestically produced pharmaceuticals.
The center would also work to enhance cross-departmental integration, to improve the efficiency of drug usage and stock maintenance, he said.
Agencies and departments are still being affected by shortages of some medicines that started earlier in the year, he said, adding that the FDA on March 24 asked pharmacies and medical-treatment facilities to issue an updated report on specific shortages.
The ministry has also asked drug importers to contact foreign suppliers at least once per month to confirm delivery schedules and quantities of drugs for the following six months, and asked domestic manufacturers to confirm their supply of raw pharmaceutical materials for the following six months, he said.
Any potential shortages in the six-month supply of drugs or raw materials must be immediately reported to the center, he said, adding that the FDA would ensure transparency in the reporting and handling of all such cases.
The Department of Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy has already established a platform for reporting supply issues, which it is trialing until Tuesday next week, he said.
The department has said it would continue to regularly evaluate and improve the platform after the trial phase.
Regarding the rising costs of imported drugs and raw materials, Hsueh said that licensed domestic manufacturers and suppliers could apply for a compensation adjustment from the National Health Insurance Administration.
Taipei and New Taipei City government officials are aiming to have the first phase of the Wanhua-Jungho-Shulin Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line completed and opened by 2027, following the arrival of the first train set yesterday. The 22km-long Light Green Line would connect four densely populated districts in Taipei and New Taipei City: Wanhua (萬華), Jhonghe (中和), Tucheng (土城) and Shulin (樹林). The first phase of the project would connect Wanhua and Jhonghe districts, with Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall and Chukuang (莒光) being the terminal stations. The two municipalities jointly hosted a ceremony for the first train to be used
MILITARY AID: Taiwan has received a first batch of US long-range tactical missiles ahead of schedule, with a second shipment expected to be delivered by 2026 The US’ early delivery of long-range tactical ballistic missiles to Taiwan last month carries political and strategic significance, a military source said yesterday. According to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget report, the batch of military hardware from the US, including 11 sets of M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and 64 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems, had been scheduled to be delivered to Taiwan between the end of this year and the beginning of next year. However, the first batch arrived last month, earlier than scheduled, with the second batch —18 sets of HIMARS, 20 MGM-140 missiles and 864 M30
Representative to the US Alexander Yui delivered a letter from the government to US president-elect Donald Trump during a meeting with a former Trump administration official, CNN reported yesterday. Yui on Thursday met with former US national security adviser Robert O’Brien over a private lunch in Salt Lake City, Utah, with US Representative Chris Stewart, the Web site of the US cable news channel reported, citing three sources familiar with the matter. “During that lunch the letter was passed along, and then shared with Trump, two of the sources said,” CNN said. O’Brien declined to comment on the lunch, as did the Taipei
A woman who allegedly attacked a high-school student with a utility knife, injuring his face, on a Taipei metro train late on Friday has been transferred to prosecutors, police said yesterday. The incident occurred near MRT Xinpu Station at about 10:17pm on a Bannan Line train headed toward Dingpu, New Taipei City police said. Before police arrived at the station to arrest the suspect, a woman surnamed Wang (王) who is in her early 40s, she had already been subdued by four male passengers, one of whom was an off-duty Taipei police officer, police said. The student, 17, who sustained a cut about
RSS