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Government Intervention in Taiwanese Optometry: Certification Pressure Mounts

Taiwan’s optical retail industry braces for the rigorous certification requirements of the Optometry Act in 2026. Can practices keep up?

What happens when governments intervene in medical licensure and certification? Taiwan’s opticians and optometrists are about to find out. 

The country’s eye care professionals are facing a critical challenge with the coming full enforcement of the Optometry Act in 2026. Passed in 2016 with a 10-year grace period, the act requires both increased training of optical retailers, and for these retailers to be staffed by more rigorously certified optometrists. 

According to the Optometry Act, optometrists are required to pass national examinations to conduct vision tests and refraction tests, which determine if patients need prescriptions for myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, or presbyopia glasses and contact lenses.1

Crowded eye care market, unexpected effects

The race to get certified is now entering its final stages in one of the most crowded eye care markets in the world. Taiwan’s optical retail market is highly competitive, with one retailer for every 3,120 people—one of the highest in the region.2 

Statistics indicate that there are up to 900 clinics that remain out of compliance with the act, with 3,271 licensed clinics in 2022 out of a reported 4,185 retailers achieving certification. 

Once the Optometry Act is fully enacted, unlicensed optical retailers will face fines ranging from NT30,000 ($926) to NT150,000 ($4,628).

President of the Optometrist Society of Taiwan, Huang Chun-chen, has reportedly suggested that retailers who fail to adjust to the new requirements face being removed from the market. 

This has led to hesitancy to establish licensed clinics or hire professional optometrists due to additional costs, and many fear that this could eventually lead to a shortfall of clinics once the regulations come into effect and clinics begin to shutter.

Progress and challenges

The move for professionalization has happened against the background of breakneck growth in the Taiwanese optometry and optician sector. Optometrists in practice increased from 178 in 2019 to 564 in 2023, while optical technicians grew from 115 to 340 in the same period.3,4

However, the national exam passing rates dropped from 24.71% in 2017 to 22.66% last year for optometrists, and from 46.57% to 28.52% for optical technicians1, leading to a potential shortfall as certification becomes more difficult and the appetite for investment in new optometrists grows tepid.

Those in rural areas stand to lose the most from such a shortfall. Most Taiwanese optometrists are in Taipei, New Taipei City, and densely populated west coast cities like Taichung, while rural areas like Taitung County and Penghu County remain underserved.1

Huang has called for government intervention to address these disparities, suggesting tax breaks to incentivize professionals to work in remote areas.

As the deadline looms, the optometry industry in Taiwan now faces a pivotal moment. And with battles around the world over scope of practice heating up, the world is watching for how more stringent regulations for optometrists impact everything from market conditions to standard-of-care and accessibility.

References 

1. Optometry Act. Available at: https://law.moj.gov.tw/ENG/LawClass/LawAll.aspx?pcode=L0020190 Accessed on January 21, 2025.

2. Taipe Times News. Available at: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2024/12/09/2003828188 Accessed on January 21, 2025.

3. Statistics of Medical Care Institution & Hospital Utilization 2019. Available at: https://www.mohw.gov.tw/lp-4932-2.html Accessed on January 21, 2025. 

4. Statistics of Medical Care Institution & Hospital Utilization 2023. Available at:  https://www.mohw.gov.tw/lp-7155-2.html Accessed on January 21, 2025. 

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