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Sep 20, 2025
PILOT PROGRAM: Urgent care centers are to be established within a 10km radius of hospitals to deal with patients with fever, acute digestive complaints or light injuries
The Ministry of Health and Welfare is finalizing details of a trial to establish urgent care centers to relieve overcrowded emergency rooms, with the program’s launch expected next month, National Health Insurance Administration Director Chen Liang-yu (陳亮妤) told reporters on the sidelines of an unrelated event in Taipei.
The pilot program — designed to provide medical attention to patients whose conditions are urgent, but not critical — would be launched next month at the soonest, she said.
The former head of the agency, Shih Chung-liang (石崇良), first promoted the concept as a potential solution to help increasingly congested emergency rooms reduce patient loads, Chen said.
Using urgent care centers to reduce wait times at emergency rooms is a system practiced in the US, Japan and Germany with varying degrees of success, she said.
The ministry plans to establish urgent care centers within a 10km radius from hospitals with critical care capabilities to deal with patients with fever, acute digestive complaints or light injuries, Chen said.
The measure is expected to reduce Class 4 and Class 5 patients by 20 percent, which represents a significant reduction of the burden on emergency rooms, she said.
continued: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/tai.../20/2003844121
PILOT PROGRAM: Urgent care centers are to be established within a 10km radius of hospitals to deal with patients with fever, acute digestive complaints or light injuries
The Ministry of Health and Welfare is finalizing details of a trial to establish urgent care centers to relieve overcrowded emergency rooms, with the program’s launch expected next month, National Health Insurance Administration Director Chen Liang-yu (陳亮妤) told reporters on the sidelines of an unrelated event in Taipei.
The pilot program — designed to provide medical attention to patients whose conditions are urgent, but not critical — would be launched next month at the soonest, she said.
The former head of the agency, Shih Chung-liang (石崇良), first promoted the concept as a potential solution to help increasingly congested emergency rooms reduce patient loads, Chen said.
Using urgent care centers to reduce wait times at emergency rooms is a system practiced in the US, Japan and Germany with varying degrees of success, she said.
The ministry plans to establish urgent care centers within a 10km radius from hospitals with critical care capabilities to deal with patients with fever, acute digestive complaints or light injuries, Chen said.
The measure is expected to reduce Class 4 and Class 5 patients by 20 percent, which represents a significant reduction of the burden on emergency rooms, she said.
continued: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/tai.../20/2003844121