Following the enactment of the Labor Occupational Accident Insurance and Protection Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act), the Ministry of Labor has established 17 hospitals dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of occupational injuries and illnesses. There are also 87 network hospitals that give workers wider access to diagnosis and treatment services, as well as return-to-work assistance. According to data from 2022 to the end of 2023, the Bureau of Labor Insurance approved as high as 93.1% percent of all occupational disease diagnoses issued by dedicated hospitals. Out of all the benefits funded by the Bureau, about 72% come from cases diagnosed by dedicated hospitals. In addition, with the optimized improvement of the occupational disease appraisal system, the entire appraisal period has dropped by over 200 days, and the overall appraisal efficiency has been greatly increased by over 40%.

     According to the Ministry of Labor, if workers suspect that they are suffering from an occupational disease, they may seek medical advice from occupational medicine specialists at dedicated or network hospitals for diagnosis and treatment. The workers should bring a medical certificate, a record of past work experience, occupational exposure history, and other relevant information. If a case is diagnosed by a physician as an occupational disease, the worker may file the case with the Bureau of Labor Insurance for occupational disease-related benefits. The Bureau approves a high percentage of the cases.

     In addition, when the Bureau of Labor Insurance deems it necessary to review a case or when a dispute arises over occupational disease benefits, the Bureau can seek support from the Ministry of Labor to conduct an occupational disease appraisal procedure and obtain professional opinions. In conjunction with the implementation of the Act, the Ministry of Labor has significantly improved the occupational disease appraisal system by implementing the following measures: clarifying the application requirements, transitioning to a centralized single-track appraisal system, grouping cases by disease type when determining an occupational disease, and simplifying the written review and meeting procedures. The Ministry recognizes the importance of occupational exposure investigation and assessment of individual cases, so it has strengthened the preliminary investigation work for occupational disease appraisal. The local labor inspection agency works with COAPRE (Center for Occupational Accident Prevention and Rehabilitation), occupational disease physicians, case managers, and industrial hygiene experts to form an investigation team to collect relevant evidence at the workplace of the affected worker. The team then prepares an objective investigation report and provides it for reference for the members of the appraisal committee. According to statistics, since the implementation of the Act, the number of days to process a case has been reduced to about 200 days, greatly improving the appraisal efficiency.

     The Ministry of Labor calls on workers with occupational disease-related needs to seek professional support from dedicated hospitals or network hospitals. More information is available on the Taiwan OSHA website: https://www.osha.gov.tw/, including the full list of dedicated and network hospitals. The Ministry of Labor will continue to improve relevant measures, expand the service network for occupational injury diagnosis and treatment, and provide a complete service system for workers suffering from occupational accidents.