Clinics to Adopt Two-Day Weekend as Early as July; Expansion of Holiday Urgent Care Centers Planned

Central News Agency, Taipei, May 31. Clinics will be able to adopt a two-day weekend starting in July. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang said today that in response to the new system, 'Holiday Urgent Care Centers (UCC)' will be restructured. In the future, they will not be limited to the six special municipalities but will be expanded to areas with lower clinic opening rates, mirroring the system in countries like Japan where clinics are closed on holidays. The National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced a draft amendment to the 'National Health Insurance Medical Service Payment Items and Standards' on the 29th. According to the draft, the reasonable monthly number of clinic days for Western medicine primary care will be adjusted from 25 to 22 days, and the first-tier patient quota will be adjusted from 30 to 35 patients, making a two-day weekend for clinics possible as early as July 1. According to MOHW statistics, the current clinic opening rate on Saturdays is about 80%, and on Sundays, it is about 20% to 30%. After the new system is implemented, to prevent a decrease in holiday clinic visits from impacting the public's right to medical care, the NHIA will actively monitor Saturday emergency room visits and the Saturday opening rate of primary care clinics. Minister Shih attended the 10th-anniversary celebration of the Taiwan Alliance of Patients' Organizations today and told the media after the event that UCCs will be expanded to provide backup. Since last November, the NHIA has promoted Holiday Urgent Care Centers (UCC), mainly targeting patients with minor illnesses (triage levels 4 to 5). Clinic physicians take turns providing internal medicine (pediatrics) and surgery (orthopedics) treatment on Sundays and national holidays from 8:00 AM to 12:00 AM. Thirteen locations were selected in the six special municipalities, allowing the public to avoid high costs and long waits at large hospital emergency rooms for minor illnesses like fevers or minor injuries on holidays. Shih said that a two-day weekend for clinics is not unique to Taiwan; countries like Japan have similar systems, which led to the development of UCCs as a backup mechanism for holiday primary care. When the number of clinics open on holidays in a certain area is insufficient, setting up a UCC ensures that patients with minor illnesses still have access to medical care on holidays without having to go directly to large hospital emergency rooms. Shih stated that when UCCs were promoted last November, they were mainly set up in the six special municipalities to relieve emergency room congestion. Now, after more than half a year of operation, it is certain that UCCs will not be phased out. As the reasonable number of clinic days for primary care is reduced, the function of UCCs may no longer just be to divert emergency room traffic, but to further fill the gap in holiday outpatient services in some areas. Shih said that especially in areas with fewer primary care physicians, requiring all clinics to maintain holiday opening hours is a heavy burden. It is better to use the UCC model, where local primary care physicians take turns to support, hoping to balance the workload and rest rights of primary care physicians while maintaining stable medical service capacity. Shih said that he will personally chair the UCC adjustment discussion meetings in the future, planning from the perspective of overall medical policy promotion and complementary supporting measures. He expects to explain the expansion and adjustment plans in August.