Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang has ordered an investigation into reports of rampant medical outsourcing by hospitals. According to these reports, hospitals are outsourcing medical procedures ranging from cancer treatments to dialysis, which Yaung found unacceptable. Taitung Hospital is small in size, understaffed, and lacks financial resources. Its dialysis center has a capacity of just 15 patients, and dialysis technicians, staff, and equipment are all outsourced. The hospital's Chinese medicine pharmacist was hired internally, but the pharmacy's drugs are outsourced. The hospital therefore cannot guarantee or control the quality of its medical services. According to a preliminary Department of Health investigation, a high percentage of Taiwan's 28 central hospitals outsource medical services ranging from dialysis to cancer and emergency room treatments. Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang has ordered a thorough investigation into the matter, and results are expected in the next few days. The DOH says that it is not opposed to central hospitals hiring medical professionals internally or renting medical equipment, but hospitals are banned from outsourcing diagnosis, treatment, and core nursing care services. Central hospitals in mountainous areas and Taiwan's outlying islands are exempt from these regulations. A new regulation requiring hospitals to apply for permission to outsource services from the Hospital Administration Commission went into effect this past April.