THROW THE BOOK:
The health minister has asked local health departments to take the ‘severest disciplinary action’ in similar cases as another clinic that had cameras
By Lee I-chia
/ Staff reporter
Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) yesterday said local health departments have been asked to take the severest disciplinary action if violations are found during a full sweep of hidden cameras in clinics, following the discovery of a fourth cosmetic clinic involved in alleged secret filming on Sunday. Some cosmetic clinics have installed hidden cameras, which do not comply with installation standards, he said in response to media queries, adding that inspections so far have found them installed in four separate cosmetic medical chains, which have branches in seven or eight cities or counties across the country.“We have asked local health departments to conduct a full sweep of the clinics,” Shih said.
A person passes by an Airlee Group Co cosmetics store chain in Taipei on Sunday.
Photo: CNA
Installing hidden cameras is “highly inadvisable, so the severest disciplinary action should be taken, and if the law requires them to suspend operation, then their operation should be suspended accordingly,” he said. He said surveillance cameras installed in healthcare facilities’ hallways, lobbies or public venues are to ensure the safety of health professionals and patients, and are not targeted at any specific person, so the facility does not need to ask for consent beforehand, as in public transportation.
However, if audio or video is being recorded in consultation rooms where patients’ privacy is involved, the patient must be notified and give consent, Shih said, adding that the ministry established these regulations for protecting privacy in healthcare facilities. Clinics that overstep the regulations would be strictly punished, he said. Healthcare facilities that are found to have inappropriately installed recording equipment, resulting in the unauthorized disclosure of patient data might contravene Article 72 of the Medical Act (醫療法) and could face a fine between NT$50,000 to NT$500,000, he said. Under the same law, depending on the severity of the circumstances, the facility might be ordered to suspend specific departments, services, or all outpatient and inpatient operations for a period from one month to one year, or might even have its operating license revoked, he added. Separately, as the legislature on Friday last week passed an amendment to the Medical Act, mandating nurse-to-patient ratio targets set by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2024 to ease nurses’ workload, the ministry said it would be officially implemented from May 2028. Nurses’ unions over the weekend criticized the ministry for postponing the implementation of the newly legislated nurse-to-patient ratios until 2028 and Taiwan Nursing and Medical Industries Union consultant Chen Yu-feng (陳玉鳳) yesterday filed a petition to the Control Yuan, accusing Shih of dereliction of duty, and favoring and shielding medical conglomerates. When asked about it, Shih said the ministry set a two-year grace period, because if the plan is fully implemented too quickly, the unsolved nursing shortage might cause more hospital beds to be closed, affecting people’s right to medical care. He said when an incentive bonus policy was carried out in 2024 to encourage healthcare facilities to meet the nurse-to-patient ratio targets, only 30 percent met the standards, improving to 70 percent in the second half of last year, but some hospitals, particularly smaller local hospitals, had to temporarily close beds.