The Health Ministry’s plan to improve rural healthcare has received backlash from local dentists, who worry that it would relax the internship threshold for “Bobo Dentists”.
Doctors and dentists who receive their medical degree overseas are eligible to skip an accreditation process, and take the physician licensing exam– a loophole in the system that drew thousands of protestors against these so-called “Bobo” dentists and doctors who worry about professional standards. Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) promised a more rigorous academic qualification review, staying the number of internship placements for foreign dental graduates, and altering the rural medicine improvement plan to prioritize domestic doctors.
To further optimize the rural medical improvement plan Cho proposed three principles to the Legislature on Thursday. Legislative Spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) relayed them as: first increasing the capacity of traveling medical services in rural areas. Second, using existing budgets to ensure salary protection, and purchase updated equipment for health centers. Finally, incentivizing local doctors and dentists to serve rural areas, especially in the 55 rural areas currently without dentists.
Cho said the original plan will no longer be applicable, with the second phase of the rural medical improvement plan taking into account the opinions of people from varied backgrounds. He asked the Health Ministry to use the three suggested principles to draft and submit a new plan within a month. Cho said the goal is that after adjusting the improvement plan, people will both feel more at ease with better access to qualified healthcare professionals.