The Control Yuan yesterday said it had corrected the Ministry of Health and Welfare for not following operating procedures when carrying out hospital accreditation assessment and increasing the number of medical centers in the “Taipei Area” from eight to 10 last year.
Control Yuan members Lin Yu-jung (林郁容), Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) and Hsiao Tzu-yu (蕭自佑) issued a news release, saying that the hospital accreditation assessment resulted in the “Taipei Area” having 10 medical centers.
However, their survey found last year’s operating procedures for hospital accreditation, proclaimed by the ministry, had already stipulated the principles for assessing medical centers, as well as the maximum number of medical centers in each level one medical area.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
There are six level one medical areas, and the Control Yuan members said the operating procedures had stipulated that the Taipei Area — including Taipei, New Taipei City, Yilan County, Keelung, Lienchiang County (Matsu) and Kinmen County — can have a maximum of eight medical centers.
Lin yesterday said the ministry, showing disregard for its operating procedures and principles, increased the number of medical centers in the Taipei Area, and has harmed the hospital accreditation system’s credibility, so they corrected the ministry earlier this month.
Previously, the evaluation meeting would list the hospitals based on overall scores given by hospital accreditation surveyors and accredit top hospitals as “medical centers,” he said.
Although some hospitals’ scores were very close last year, the ministry using close scores as a reason to increase the total number of medical centers does not meet the administrative operation’s principle of consistency, he said.
The ministry citing surveyors having different scoring criteria as another reason to increase number of medical centers not only shows disrespect to the surveyors’ expertise, but also harms the hospitals’ trust in the accreditation assessment results, he said.
The decision might cause more medical centers in Taipei and New Taipei City to compete for personnel and affect copayment amounts, he said. The ministry lacks a comprehensive evaluation process, and should reflect on and improve its brash decision, he said.
There are 14 administrative regions in Taiwan without any medical centers, and some local government heads and public representatives are striving to establish medical centers in their region, Lin said.
The ministry should start discussing the limits on the number of medical centers and related supplementary measures, he added.
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