Chapter 3 Occupational Accieent Prevention and Rehabilitation
Section 1 Fund and Relevant Assistance Measures
Article 62
The central competent authority may prepare a budget up to 20% of the insurance premium receivable during an occupational accident insurance year and the remaining amount from the utilization of budgets in the past years to organize the following:
1.Prevention of occupational accident.
2.Health examination to prevent occupational disease.
3.Reporting of Occupational injury or disease, referral of workers suffering occupational accidents and case-by-case services.
4.Rehabilitation of workers suffering occupational accidents.
5.Donation (subsidy) to juridical persons established in accordance with Article 70.
6.Other matters related to occupational accident prevention, occupational disease prevention, occupational accident worker rehabilitation and assistance to occupational accident workers and families.
The central competent authority may appoint its authority (institution), delegate, outsource or subsidize other relevant authorities (institutions), corporations or organizations to perform the activities under subparagraphs 1 to 4 and subparagraph 6 of the previous paragraph.
The central competent authority shall prescribe the conditions for subsidy, standards, procedures and other compliance matters under subparagraph 5 of the first paragraph and the previous paragraph.
Article 63
When an insured person performs harmful work designated by the central competent authority, the insured unit may seek health examination to prevent occupational disease with the insurer.
If a worker has performed harmful work designated by the central competent authority, he/she may seek a follow-up health examination with the insurer.
The insurer outsources the cost of health examination to prevent occupational disease and the payment of follow-up health examination cost under the previous two paragraphs to the insurer of national health insurance.
The designation of harmful work, the manner of application for examination, the target, item, frequency, cost, procedure, approved medical institution, reporting details, manner and deadline of examination results and other compliance matters under the first and second paragraphs shall be prescribed by the central competent authority.
Article 64
The competent authority shall plan and consolidate relevant resources and may also use information related to the Insurance approved by the insurer to provide the following suitable rehabilitation services in accordance with the needs of workers of occupational accidents:
1.Medical rehabilitation: Help with the treatment and care for occupational accident workers to recover their physical and mental functions and to reinstate their normal lives.
2.Social rehabilitation: Procure psychological support, social adaptation, welfare consultation, maintenance and protection of interest for occupational accident workers and their families.
3.Functional rehabilitation: Through functional evaluation, reinforced training and reinstatement assistance, etc., help occupational accident workers improve their work capabilities and reinstate their work.
4.Occupational rehabilitation: Provide occupational guidance assessment, occupational training, employment service, re-design of job duties, entrepreneurial guidance, promotion of employment measures and other occupational rehabilitation services to help occupational accident workers return to the job market.
When the rehabilitation of occupational accident workers involves social welfare or medical care, the competent authority shall coordinate with health and welfare competent authorities to provide holistic and continuous services.
Article 65
The central competent authority shall plan an individual case management service system for occupational accident workers, consolidate reported information of Occupational injury or disease nationwide and establish an individual case service database for occupational accident workers.
Municipal and county (city) competent authorities shall establish reporting and referral mechanism within their jurisdictions to understand information related to occupational accident workers. They shall put in place professional service personnel to timely provide the following services based on the needs of the occupational accident workers:
1.Individual case management services for occupational accident workers.
2.Family support for occupational accident workers.
3.Maintenance of workers’ interest.
4.Assistance with reinstatement of work.
5.Occupational rehabilitation resources such as referral employment services and occupational guidance and evaluation.
6.Links to relevant social welfare resources.
7.Other assistance related to occupational accident workers and their families.
Competent authorities shall exercise the due care of good administrators in relation to the information acquired in accordance with the previous two paragraphs. The retention, processing, and use of relevant information shall be in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act provisions.
Article 66
In order to reinstate and reinforce the working capabilities of occupational accident workers, employers or occupational accident workers may file applications with professional, functional rehabilitation institutions approved by the central competent authority to help them prepare a work reinstatement plan, organize work analysis and functional capacity evaluation for occupational accident workers and to functional rehabilitation services such as reinforcement training for their physical and mental functions.
Approved professional, functional rehabilitation institutions that organize the functional rehabilitation services under the previous paragraph may seek subsidy from the central competent authority.
Regulations for the approval conditions for professional institutions under the previous two paragraphs, their management, qualifications of staff, service manner, the procedure for subsidy application, standards for a subsidy, revocation and other compliance matters shall be prescribed by the central competent authority in consultation with the central health and welfare competent authority.
Article 67
After occupational accident workers complete medical care, the employers shall follow the work reinstatement plans prepared in accordance with the first paragraph of the previous article and assist with the reinstatement of work. If the previous work cannot be reinstated, following negotiation between the employer and the employee, suitable work shall be arranged based on the health status and capability.
To procure reinstatement of the original work or arrangement of suitable work for occupational accident workers, employers shall provide assisting facilities required for work performance, including tools for the reinstatement, maintenance or reinforcement of employment capabilities and the improvement of work environment, equipment and machinery, etc.
The employer may seek subsidies from the municipal or county (city) competent authorities for the assistance facilities under the previous paragraph.
Article 68
During functional rehabilitation period in the following institutions due to Occupational injury or disease, the insured person may seek functional rehabilitation allowance from the municipal or county (city) competent authorities:
1.Medical institution providing Occupational injury or disease clinic approved in accordance with Article 73.
2.Professional, functional rehabilitation institution approved in accordance with Article 66.
The subsidy under the previous paragraph may be issued to a maximum of 180 days in total.
Article 69
The enterprise that hires occupational accident workers may seek subsidy from the municipal or county (city) competent authorities if one of the following conditions are met:
1.Assistance with occupational accident workers to reinstate original work, adjust job duties or arrange other work.
2.Hire occupational accident workers from other enterprises.
The central competent authority shall prescribe the Regulations concerning the conditions, standards, application and approval procedures for the subsidy or allowance under the previous two articles and the previous paragraph and other compliance matters.
Section 2 Occupational Accident Prevention and Juridical Person for Rehabilitation
Article 70
To consolidate and organize occupational accident prevention and occupational accident worker rehabilitation activities under the Act, the central competent authority shall donate and establish an occupational accident prevention and rehabilitation center as a juridical person (hereinafter referred to as the “Occupational Accident Prevention and Rehabilitation Center”). The central competent authority shall prescribe the articles of association for donation.
Article 71
The source of funds for the Occupational Accident Prevention and Rehabilitation Center is as follows:
1.Donation (subsidy) budgeted in accordance with Article 62.
2.Donation (subsidy) from government authorities (institutions).
3.Income from entrusted activities and provision of services.
4.Proceeds from the fund created.
5.Income from donations and gifts.
6.Other income related to the performance of activities.
Article 72
The Occupational Accident Prevention and Rehabilitation Center shall establish personnel, accounting, internal control and audit systems and report them to the central competent authority for approval.
To supervise and ensure normal operation and sound development of the Occupational Accident Prevention and Rehabilitation Center, the central competent authority shall establish supervisory and management regulations about the selection of its directors or supervisors, the qualifications thereof, utilization of funds and budgets, property management and major annual measures, etc.
The central competent authority shall perform a regular audit on the business and financial operation status of the Occupational Accident Prevention and Rehabilitation Center. The results of the audit shall be published on its website.
The central competent authority may invite representatives from worker organizations, representatives from employer organizations, representatives from relevant authorities, scholars and experts to conduct a performance evaluation of the Occupational Accident Prevention and Rehabilitation Center. The result of the evaluation shall be filed with the Legislative Yuan.
Section 3 Reporting of Occupational injury or disease and Appraisal of Occupational Disease
Article 73
To provide occupational accident workers with consolidated services for treating Occupational injury or disease and reporting of Occupational injury or disease, the central competent authority may subsidize approved medical institutions to perform the following:
1.Establish Occupational injury or disease clinics with service windows.
2.Consolidate resources inside medical institutions, report Occupational injury or disease across specialties and departments, provide consolidated services such as diagnosis, treatment, medical rehabilitation, functional rehabilitation, etc.
3.Establish regional Occupational injury or disease treatment and functional rehabilitation service network with a timely referral.
4.Provide individual case management services, with necessary follow-up and referral.
5.Reporting of Occupational injury or disease under regional service network.
6.Onsite visit of suspected occupational disease.
7.Other medical and health related matters for occupational accident workers.
Under the previous paragraph, the approved medical institutions may consolidate with the professional functional rehabilitation institutions under Article 66 to provide consolidated service measures.
When a worker seeks medical service with a suspected occupational disease, if the physician has difficulty diagnosing the causation of occupational disease, the worker may be referred to an approved medical institution under the first paragraph.
The employer, medical institution or another person who learns about the Occupational injury or disease of a worker or the worker suffering Occupational injury or disease him/herself may file a report with the competent authority. Upon receipt of the report, the competent authority shall consolidate reported information of Occupational injury or disease in accordance with Article 65 and provide timely services and assistance measures required by such worker.
The approval conditions for the medical institutions under the first paragraph, their management, personnel qualifications, manner of service, reporting of Occupational injury or disease, onsite visit of suspected occupational disease, subsidy standards, revocation, personnel, manner and details of the report under the previous paragraph and other compliance matters shall be prescribed by the central competent authority in consultation with central health and welfare competent authority.
Article 74
To organize occupational disease prevention and occupational accident worker rehabilitation services, the central competent authority may ask the following entities to provide relevant information and such entities shall not refuse:
1.Information lawfully collected and processed by central health and welfare competent authorities and the authorities (institutions) under their jurisdictions is required to treat specific diseases.
2.Medical history, medical care and health examination information kept by medical institutions.
The central competent authority shall exercise the due care of a good administrator in relation to the information acquired according to the previous two paragraphs. The retention, processing, and use of relevant information shall be in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Act provisions.
Article 75
If deemed required to review and approve an occupational disease benefit case, the insurer may seek occupational disease appraisal from the central competent authority.
If the insured person has a dispute about the occupational disease benefit case and if the insured person has been diagnosed with the occupational disease by a physician specializing in occupational medicine in an approved medical institution under the first paragraph of Article 73, when he/she files for review in accordance with Article 5, the insurer may be asked to seek occupational disease appraisal from the central competent authority.
To carry out occupational disease appraisal under the previous two paragraphs, the central competent authority shall establish a list of occupational disease appraisal experts (hereinafter referred to as the “Expert List”) and select members from the List of Experts depending on the type of disease to form an occupational disease appraisal committee.
The regulations about the scope of acceptance of occupational disease appraisal cases, the formation of the occupational disease appraisal committee, the experts’ qualifications, recommendations, screening and selection, occupational disease appraisal procedure, analysis and disclosure of appraisal results and other relevant matters shall be prescribed by the central competent authority.
Article 76
If deemed necessary by the occupational disease appraisal committee, the central competent authority may conduct an investigation together with the occupational disease appraisal committee.
None of the employer, employer’s representative, worker or any other relevant person shall evade, interfere with or refuse the investigation under the previous paragraph.
If required, a notice may be given to the subject or relevant person to participate in the investigation under the first paragraph.