Article Text
Abstract
In Taiwan, the Labour Health Protection Regulation is implemented on the basis of Occupational Safety and Health Act. The Regulation mandates employers arrange screening health examinations for employees before starting to work and also lists 12 categories of special health examinations targeting at jobs with exposure to special health hazards such as ionising radiation, noise, lead, etc. Workers who have certain diseases and conditions are not allowed to engage in certain categories of jobs. Employers are required to conduct a health examination on workers who are under 40 years of age every five years. For those who are between 40 and 65 years of age, health examinations should be conducted every three years, and for those who are above 65 years of age, every year. For workers who were engaged in the hazardous jobs listed by the Regulation, the health examination should be conducted annually regardless of their ages, and the costs are paid by the Bureau of Labour Insurance (BLI). After each periodical examination on a worker engaged in a hazardous job, physicians need to assign the results to one of the four levels of management (Level 1, 2, 3 and 4). For workers with a management level of 2 or above, physicians need to make notes of the jobs that should be avoided and precautions that should be taken. Furthermore, for workers with a management level of 3 or above, physicians need to make diagnoses on the basis of the test results. All the health examinations are performed by health-care institutes accredited by BLI, and health-care institutes are required to report cases with a management level of 3 or above to both to the inspection authority. Therefore, the health examination system also serves as a part of the reporting system of occupational diseases and injuries in Taiwan.