In light of the recent amendment to Article 11 of the Pharmacists Act, some media reported that once the Article is amended to allow pharmacists to support the practice of pharmacy where he or she is not employed full-time, pharmacists might eventually end up being employed as contractors instead of being offered full-time positions. The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) would like to clarify the misinterpretation by pointing out Article 20-1 of the Pharmacists Act, which states: “Pharmacists administering and managing a pharmacy shall have two years and above experience of dispensation practice before providing the service of pharmaceutical dispensations. Medical care institutions employing pharmacists for the service of pharmaceutical affairs shall provide the service of pharmaceutical dispensations only when at least one of the pharmacists has two years and above experience of dispensation practice”. Hence, based on Article 20-1 of Pharmacists Act, a pharmacy or a medical care institution must employ at least one full-time pharmacist in order to provide the service of pharmaceutical dispensations. As a result, pharmacists will not end up being employed as contractors when Article 11 of the same Act is amended. 

On the other hand, a dispatched worker refers to “a worker who is assigned to work at and be supervised by a dispatch receiver company by his dispatching company”. When medical personnel engage in the practice of medical care where they are not employed full-time, they are not working as a dispatched worker but rather out of their personal needs or reciprocating to a rural area that lacks medical resources. They voluntarily request to support another pharmacy or healthcare facility with the local health bureau where they are licensed to practice pharmacy and the competent health authority will decide if the human resource distribution at the original pharmacy or healthcare facility will be affected if the requesting pharmacist were to work at a different place, if the supporting pharmacist’s duration of work hours is appropriate, if the duration of support is too long and the necessity of such support before approving the request. Therefore, MOHW once again emphasizes that pharmacists will not end up being employed as contractors.