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Chapter Law Content

Title: Public Health Specialists Act CH
Category: Ministry of Health and Welfare(衛生福利部)
Chapter 2 Practice
Article 8
Public health specialists practice business shall base on one of the following manners, except for supporting between or among institutions and sites.
1. Employed by a medical, healthcare or long-term care institution, public health specialist office or other institutions or sites approved by the competent authority.
2. Employed by an institution (site) other than the previous subparagraph that should staff with a public health specialist in accordance with the law.
After accumulated practice for 2 years or longer in the locations prescribed under the previous paragraph, a public health specialist may file an application with the municipal or county (city) competent authority to establish a public health specialist office alone or together with other public health specialists. However, if the public health specialist has practiced public health businesses before the implementation of this Act, the actual service period may be combined with calculation of aforementioned period.
The responsible public health specialist of a public health specialist office shall be its applicant, responsible for supervising the business activities of the office.
The use and change of names of public health specialists under the preceding second paragraph, the conditions and procedure for the approvals of establishment applications, issuance or cancellation of approvals, fee schedules, restrictions on advertising contents and other compliance matters shall be established by the central competent authority.
Article 9
Public health specialists shall practice at a site chosen in accordance with the manner under the previous Article and a practice registration shall be filed with the municipal or county (city) competent authority of the place where the site is located. The practice shall be conditioned upon acquisition of practice license.
Practicing public health specialists shall take continued education and shall provide documents showing completion of continued education every 6 years and renew the practice license accordingly.
The documents required for practice registration application, the issuance, replacement, re-issuance and update of practice license, the program, scoring and implementation manner of the continued educational training under the previous paragraph, the recognition of completion of continued education and other relevant matters shall be established by the central competent authority.
Article 10
Should any of the following events occur, the practice license shall not be issued. If it is already issued, the license shall be cancelled or revoked.
1. Prior cancellation or revocation of public health specialist certificate.
2. Revocation of public health specialist practice license made less than one year.
3. Physical fact showing that the public health specialist is unable to practice the business, as determined by a team of physicians of relevant specialties, public health specialists, scholars and experts invited by the municipal or county (city) competent authority.
After the event under subparagraph 3 of the previous paragraph ceases to exist, an application for practice license may still be filed in accordance with this Act.
Article 11
To practice business, public health specialists shall join the local public health specialists’ association of the place where the practice is registered.
No public health specialist’s association shall refuse membership to any person qualified to join the association.
Article 12
When a public health specialist suspends or ceases practicing, a filing shall be made with the original authority that issued the practice license within 30 days from the date of occurrence of the event.
The suspension period under the previous paragraph is limited to one year. After one year, business closure shall be carried out within 30 days from the day immediately following the expired date of the one-year period. If business is not closed before the deadline, the original authority that issued the practice license is empowered to revoke the practice license.
When a public health specialist changes his/her practice site or reinstates his/her business, provisions about practice under Article 9 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
In the case of decease of a public health specialist, the original authority that issued the practice license shall cancel the practice license.
Article 13
Public health specialists shall practice the following businesses:
1. Planning, implementing or evaluating programs of environmental health risks for the community and site.
2. Planning, implementing or evaluating programs of disease investigations and prevention for the community and site.
3. Planning, implementing or evaluating programs of public health status investigations and health promotion for the community and site.
4. Planning, implementing or evaluating programs of food safety risk investigations and quality management for the community and site.
5. Other public health affairs recognized by the central competent authority.
Should any of the following events concerning the business activities under the previous paragraph occur, it shall not be subject to the restrictions of this Act:
1. Practice by medical staff or other professional and technical staff which is affiliated with their business activities.
2. Execution by government authorities (institutions) or mandated or subsidized by government authorities (institutions).
3. Execution by schools, institutions, corporations or organizations in accordance with research projects.
4. Execution by military authorities or affiliated medical institutions in consideration of national defense security affairs.
Practicing businesses by public health specialists under the first paragraph shall not involve any medical act, except if the public health specialist is simultaneously qualified as medical staff.
Article 14
In case of emergency or material public health incident, the competent authority may designate public health specialists to carry out the activities under the first paragraph of the previous Article. Public health specialists shall not refuse thereto without justification.
The costs or losses incurred by public health specialists in carrying out the designated activities under the previous paragraph shall be compensated by the competent authority. The rules about qualifications and procedure for seeking compensation, the approval of the scope of costs or losses, the manner of compensation and other relevant matters shall be determined by the central competent authority.
Article 15
Public health specialists shall prepare records and reports for their practice of business activities; further with the affixation of signatures or seals and specifying the dates of execution thereon. In the case of entrust by any client, the names, residences and mandates of the clients shall be recorded.
The records and reports prescribed in the previous paragraph shall be kept for at least 3 years by the practicing institution or site.
Article 16
No public health specialist is allowed to engage in any of the following acts:
1. Lease or lend the public health specialist certificate or practice license to any person for use.
2. Make false statement or report upon enquiry or mandate assessment by relevant institutions.
3. Disclosure of other person’s secret learned or held due to business activity without justification.
4. Improper conduct or breach of business obligation in relation to any mandate.
5. Acquisition of undue benefit by taking advantage of business activities.
6. Publication or distribution of false information about public health.
Subparagraph 3 of the previous paragraph remains applicable after business practice ceases.
Subparagraph 3 of the first paragraph and the previous paragraph also apply to the personnel who is/are served in public health specialist’s practicing location.
Article 17
The competent authority may inspect public health specialists’ business activities or procure reports from public health specialists. No public health specialist shall avoid, obstruct or refuse the demand for inspection or report.
Article 18
In practicing business activities, public health specialists shall comply with public health professional ethical rules.
The ethical rules under the previous paragraph shall be established by the national public health specialists’ association, submitted to the general meeting of members (member representatives) for approval and filed with the central competent authority for records.
Should any of the following events occur, the case of involved public health specialist shall be submitted by the public health specialists’ association or the competent authority for disciplinary action:
1. Material or repeated occurrence of negligent act during course of business activities.
2. To sentence a final judgement on criminal offense by his/her taking advantage of business activities.
3. To constitute breach of any provision of first paragraph of Article 16.
4. Breach of ethical rules under the first paragraph thereof.
Disciplinary actions that may be imposed on public health specialist are as follows:
1. Warning.
2. Order to receive a certain number of hours of continued education or study in addition to the second paragraph, Article 9.
3. Restriction on scope of practicing business or business suspension for a period not less than one month but not more than one year.
4. Cancellation of practice license.
5. Cancellation of public health specialist certificate.
The disciplinary actions under the previous paragraph may be combined into one single disciplinary sanction provided that there is no conflict in nature of such disciplinaries.
Article 19
Disciplinary actions imposed on public health specialists shall be handled by the public health specialist disciplinary committee.
The public health specialist disciplinary committee shall give notice to the public health specialist subject to the discipline and shall give such public health specialist 20 days from the day following the service of the notice to submit a defense or make a statement to the committee on or before the designated date. If the defense is not submitted or statement not made to the committee before the deadline, the public health specialist disciplinary committee may enter into a resolution at the discretion of the committee.
If the disciplined party objects to the resolution made by the public health specialist disciplinary committee, an appeal may be filed with the public health specialist disciplinary appeal committee within 20 days from the day following the service of the written resolution.
Disciplinary resolutions made by the public health specialist disciplinary committee and the public health specialist disciplinary appeal committee shall be forwarded to the competent authority with jurisdiction for execution.
Certain members of the public health specialist disciplinary committee and the public health specialist disciplinary appeal committee shall be appointed by selection, in which shall contain public health and legal experts and scholars as well as members of the society who are not legislative representatives; in addition to, legal experts and scholars and members of the society shall not constitute less than one-third (1/3) of all members.
The public health specialist disciplinary committee shall be established by the central, municipal or county (city) competent authority. The public health specialist disciplinary appeal committee shall be established by the central competent authority. The procedures of establishment, organization, meeting, discipline, appeal and the rules of other matters shall be established by the central competent authority.