《TAIPEI TIMES》Health project to cover all newborns

NO LONGER VOLUNTARY: Children born on or after Nov. 1 would have a designated pediatrician and medical team care for them until they turn 4, the health ministry said

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

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The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s pediatrician care project for children aged three years or under would be expanded to include all children born on or after Wednesday next week, starting on the same day, the ministry said yesterday.

The “Project of Holistic Physicians for Young Children” involves a doctor and medical team being designated to follow up on the health and development of children aged three or younger.

The ministry in May announced that it would expand the project to cover the whole nation.

Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan （薛瑞元） yesterday said that a trial program was first launched in six administrative regions in 2020, and all 22 are included in the project now.

The project’s most important mission is to integrate child disease prevention and health promotion services implemented by the government to provide individually catered medical care and health management by a designated pediatrician and medical team, so that every young child can receive timely and ongoing healthcare, the ministry said.

The care services offered include health checks and consultations, vaccinations, and fluoride applications.

The project is currently voluntary, allowing parents to decide if they want to enroll their child in the program, but starting from Wednesday next week, all children born on that day or afterward would be included in the program, and a doctor would contact parents and provide healthcare follow-ups for their child, Hsueh said.

If a child is found to have a developmental delay or to be living in a high-risk environment, the doctor could report the case, he said.

If necessary, a home visit could be arranged by a social affairs agency to avoid domestic violence or child abuse, he added.

There are 1,863 holistic physicians designated for young children at 1,045 healthcare facilities nationwide, and they are responsible for 166,118 children, or about 37.6 percent of young children in that age group, Hsueh said.

The project is an important part of the Cabinet’s four-year pediatric healthcare enhancement program, and while a NT$2.8 billion （US$86.64 million） budget was originally allocated, the budget was increased to NT$2 billion per year from next year, he said.

Expectant mothers would be provided with information about the project so that they can start considering the pediatrician or healthcare facility they wish to select, Hsueh said.

If they do not choose one, the local health department would designate a pediatrician to contact the parents after the child is born, he said.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES