Ministry fines scalpers reselling appointments at famous clinics

Ministry fines scalpers reselling appointments at famous clinics

2025-10-07

Some doctors are so popular, getting an appointment is even harder than getting concert tickets. Some people sought to turn this into a business opportunity, first booking appointments and then charging as much as NT$4,000 to sell their slots. But the Ministry of Health and Welfare, worrying that this would damage the medical system and noting its unfairness, said it would fine these “appointment scalpers” NT$50,000 to NT$250,000.

All these people are lining up early in the morning to book an appointment at a popular clinic. Seeking to turn this into a business opportunity, some people started booking appointments first and selling their slots to others.

Lin Ya-hui
Taiwan Healthcare Reform Foundation director
When lots of appointment slots are taken, but not actually used, or when the price is hiked to over NT$1,000, it crowds out people with genuine medical needs and creates another form of class-based healthcare.

An online search quickly finds several sites reselling appointment slots. The Ministry of Health and Welfare decided to impose fines ranging from NT$50,000 to NT$250,000 for “appointment scalping.”

Shih Chung-liang
Minister of Health and Welfare
This shouldn’t be allowed because it undermines the medical system and creates another kind of unfairness. I have instructed the Department of Medical Affairs to handle this behavior as a violation of the Medical Care Act, under which non-medical institutions are prohibited from engaging in medical advertising.

Hung Tzu-jen
Shinkong Wu Ho-su Memorial Hospital vice superintendent
This real-time monitoring system tracks the source of bookings to see if the same account or IP address makes a large number of bookings in a short period or over a period of time. We will impose suspensions and refer cases to the government to investigate together.

Hospitals are blocking people from quickly securing lots of appointments to stop scalpers. But it’s not always necessary to go to large hospitals or see famous doctors. Going to other clinics could help prevent limited slots from being snatched up by scalpers.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#doctor #medicine #healthcare #appointment #booking #clinic #hospital #appointmentscalper #scalper

黃牛代掛名醫門診喊到4千元! 衛福部:將開罰最高25萬

2025-10-07

不少名醫的門診，幾乎比演唱會還難搶，甚至有民眾凌晨就去排隊掛號，有業者看準商機，衍生出掛號黃牛的代掛業者，一次收費400至600元，搶手名醫甚至開價3000到4000元，不過，衛福部擔心破壞醫療制度，也不公平，將開罰5萬到25萬罰鍰。

天還沒亮，排隊人潮滿滿滿，就是為了搶名醫門診，因為不少名醫，掛號瞬間秒殺，也衍生出掛號黃牛，代替別人掛號。

[[醫改會執行長林雅惠]]
“名額被大量佔用，但卻沒有實際就診，或是喊價到上千元的情形，都會排擠到真正有就醫需求的民眾，而且也會形成，另一種階級的醫療。”

網路上一搜，就能看到好幾家，代掛號亂象，衛福部決定開罰，5萬到25萬罰鍰。

[[衛福部長石崇良]]
“我想這個是不允許，因為這一方面破壞了分級醫療的制度，同時也衍生另外一種的不公平，因此我已經責成醫事司，就這個行為，違反了我們這個醫療法裡面，非醫療機構，不得為醫療廣告的方式來處分。”

[[新光醫院副院長洪子仁]]
“這個即時的監控，去看看掛號的來源，有沒有同一個帳號，或同一個IP位置，在短時間內或一段時間內，大量的來掛號的情況，我們也會做所謂的停權，或做一個處置移送給政府，一起來做這個調查的了解。”

為了抓掛號黃牛，透過醫院系統，阻擋程式快速取得掛號名額，提醒民眾，不一定要到大醫院、看名醫，避免有限的掛號名額，被黃牛占用。

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South Korea has emerged in recent years as one of the most popular travel destinations among Taiwanese, second only to Japan. The Hongdae shopping area in Seoul is particularly popular. People online have even created a bathroom map of the area to help travelers when they find themselves in an urgent situation. One user recently posted the passwords to dozens of restrooms. The post was liked 15,000 times, drawing anger from Korean users. A travel agent called for people to stop such behavior to prevent Korean businesses from developing a negative impression of Taiwanese.

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Chen Chih-fan
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Crabs cooked in various styles are on display at this press conference hosted by the Miaoli County Government. The county is promoting its locally raised Chinese mitten crabs.

The mitten crabs raised across Miaoli weigh around 115 to 150 grams each and cost from NT$350 to NT$400, about the same as previous years. The crabs turn bright red after being cooked, with sweet and savory meat inside. In its efforts to ensure the crabs are both delicious and healthy, the county government puts a small ring with a QR code on every crab that passes inspection to show the crab’s origin and authenticity.

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