Establishing Occupational Disease and Injury Services in Taiwan

Abstract

Because of severe under-diagnosis and under-notification of occupational diseases and lack of assistance systems of rehabilitation and return to work on workers with occupational injuries, Centers for Occupational Disease and Injury Service (CODTS) has been established since 2003. In 2009, there were nine CODISs to provide the services, including 3 centers in northern, 3 in central, 2 in southern, and 1 in eastern Taiwan. A coordination center, Center for Occupational Disease and Injury Management and Service (CODIMS), was established in 2007 in Taipei, to ensure the standard operating procedures and the quality of services. In addition, the network hospitals, which collaborated with their regional Centers for Occupational Disease and Injury Service, joined the system to provide the services. Therefore, the network for occupational disease and injury services was built with 150 outpatient services per week by the end of 2009. The main tasks of CODTMS are to provide the professional consultation on the management of occupational disease and injury, to establish the standard operation procedures for CODTSs' services, to ensure the quality of CODISs' services, and to maintain the reporting system of occupational diseases and injuries. The number of reported occupational diseases has been increased significantly, especially in the period of 2006-2008. The compensable cases of occupational diseases were also increased in same period. The experience of the establishment of Centers for Occupational Disease and Injury Services and the network hospitals is an effective approach. Future work are to provide the more basic occupational health services under the implementation of national occupational health service program, to extend the notification of occupational diseases and injuries, to notification of work-related diseases, to improve the quality of services, etc.