- 期刊
論衛生署歷年推拿函釋之法律爭議
A Discussion on the DOH-issued Interpretation Letters Regarding the Legal Disputes of Massage Therapy
摘要
中醫推拿業務之管理及助理（俗稱推拿師）之存在與定位問題，一向為衛生主管機關所漠視，長久以來一直處於法律之灰色地帶懸而未決。由於其一貫秉持「非正規者法律無由管理」之態度，以致於坊間中醫診所僱用非醫事人員擔任推拿助理執行推拿業務已行之有年且為公開不爭之事實，其工作之性質難謂與人民健康公共福祉無關，卻不具任何合法之地位及證照考覈管理制度！然近日中醫推拿業務及助理問題卻因「健保不給付助理推拿影響生計」及「衛生署有關民俗療法函釋受到監察院糾正」而浮上檯面；綜觀衛生署歷年「推拿函釋」之內容，以法律觀點視之，實存在不少爭議與問題；中醫推拿業務及助理法律定位之所以長期缺乏規範、懸而未決，其來有自！本文從法律觀點評析衛生署歷年推拿函釋爭議，希冀以個人微薄之見解提供解決及改進當前問題之方針！
並列摘要
The issues concerning the existence and definition of management and assistantship of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) massage therapy have always been largely neglected by Department of Health (DOH) officials, thus leaving many issues unresolved in a gray area of legal norms. The practice of private TCM clinics hiring non-medical professionals as massage therapists have been known to the public and done with acquiescence as a result of lack of applicable legal norms and regulations. One cannot rule out the impact of their employment on the well being of ordinary Taiwanese people; however, a bulk of them still keep exercising their ”expertise” without any lawful accreditations in a legal vacuum of relevant license management system. These problems have been recently brought into light as the National Health Insurance Plan denied subsidies to such ”assistants” and the interpretation letter issued by DOH was called for correction by the Control Yuan. In a legal perspective, as one scans through the DOH letters, it is not hard to find a superabundance of controversies and problems, which can all be attributed to the dearth of appropriate legal definition.The article evaluates the disputes arising from interpretation letters in recent years, hoping to provide possible alternatives to current circumstances based on the author's observations.