To reduce wastes of medical care resources, to cope with the demands for continuous medical care and tobring into play the functions of nursing personnel, nursing institutions shall be established.

(Deleted.)

The establishment or expansion of nursing institutions shall be approved by the competent authority in advance; the qualifications of applicants, review procedures and criteria, revocation, annulment and other regulations to be complied with shall be set by the central competent authority.
The classification and establishment standards of nursing institutions shall be determined by the central competent authority.

Application shall be made to the local municipal or county (city) competent authority for approval and registration of the opening of a nursing institution by the following procedures and the issuance of an opening permit.
1. Public nursing institutions: the representative of the institution shall be the applicant.
2. Corporate institutions: the juridical person shall be the applicant.
3. Private nursing institutions: For an institution established by an individual person, a senior nurse employed by the institution shall be the applicant. Other juridical persons that establish ancillary institutions shall be the applicants.

The use or change of the title of a nursing institution shall be approved by the competent authority.
A non-nursing institution shall not use the title of nursing institution or similar titles.

The content of a nursing institution’s advertisements is limited to the following items:
1. Title, reference number of opening permit, address and telephone number of the nursing institution and directions to the institution;
2. Name, sex, academic background, working experience, nursing personnel certificate and reference number of practice permit of the nurse in charge;
3. Business items and hours;
4. Starting, terminating, suspending or resuming business, relocation of business and the date (including year, month and day);
5. Other items whose publication and dissemination are approved under the announcement of the central competent authority.
A non-nursing institution shall not produce advertisements on nursing.

A nursing institution shall not use the following titles:
1. A title which has been registered and used by another person in the same municipal or county (city) area;
2. A title or similar titles which are used by other nursing institutions in the same municipal or county (city) area; these institutions’ opening permits have been revoked for less than one (1) year or the institutions’ businesses have been suspended;
3. Titles which easily mislead people into believing that the nursing institutions to which the titles affixed are related to government organizations or charitable organization, or titles which harm public order or good social customs.

The nursing institution shall have one (1) qualified senior nurse. He/she shall be in charge of supervising nursing practice in the institution. The qualifications and requirements for the senior nurse shall be determined by the central competent authority.
In the case of a private nursing institution established by the senior nurse of the preceding Paragraph, the person who applied for approval shall be the person in charge of the institution.

In the event that circumstances arise which make it impossible for the person who is in charge of the nursing institution to carry out the practice in the institution, he/she shall appoint a qualified person, who is fit to be in charge of the practices, to represent him/her. A person who acts as an agent for a period exceeding one (1) month shall report to the original competent authority which issued the opening permit for reference.
The maximum acting period of the preceding Paragraph shall not exceed one (1) year.

A nursing institution shall conclude referral agreements with neighbouring hospitals.
The hospitals of the preceding Paragraph are limited to those which pass the accreditation by the competent authority in accordance with the law.
When an agreement mentioned in Paragraph 1 is terminated, dissolved or modified, the nursing institution shall conclude a new agreement with the party with whom it concluded the original referral agreement; and within fifteen (15) days of the date of the termination, dissolution or modification of the agreement, the institution shall submit the new agreement to the original authority which issued the opening permit for record.

The standards for fees collected by a nursing institution shall be reviewed and prescribed by the municipal or county (city) competent authority. However, the standards for fees collected by a public nursing institution shall be reviewed and prescribed by the competent authority which administers such an institution.
A nursing institution shall not overcharge and violate the fee standards.

When the nursing institution is suspended or terminated, or its registered items are changed, the applicant shall report within thirty (30) days after the fact occurs to the original authority which issued the opening permit for record.
Provisions regarding opening of a nursing institution shall apply to relocation of a nursing institution or a nursing institution which resumes practice.

A nursing institution shall submit reports in accordance with the laws and regulations or the notification of the competent authority, and shall accept the competent authority’s inspections of its staff scheduling, facilities, fees, operation, sanitation, safety and records and the authority’s collection of information.

The central competent authority shall carry out the accreditation of nursing institutions. The competent authorities at municipality and county (city) levels shall supervise and assess the services provided by the nursing institutions within their jurisdiction on a regular basis.
Nursing institutions must not avoid, hinder, or reject the accreditation, supervision, and assessment set forth in the preceding paragraph.
The competent authorities may commission related institutions or organizations to carry out the accreditation, supervision, and assessment set forth in Paragraph 1 when necessary.

When the central competent authority carries out the accreditation of nursing institutions, it shall announce the results, valid period, and status of the accreditation of each institution.
In the event that during the valid period of the accreditation, a nursing institution violates this Act or orders issued in accordance with this Act and fails to make improvements as requested by the competent authority within a specified period of time or the violation is severe, the central competent authority may downgrade its accreditation status or revoke its accredited qualifications.
The criteria for accreditation of nursing institutions, including the participants, items, ratings, and methods, as well as the regulations governing the rescission and revocation of accreditation results and other matters to be complied with, shall be determined by the central competent authority.