TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Hospitals in Taiwan are having difficulty retaining pharmacists, despite the two-year residency program requirement for pharmacy students to graduate from local universities, per UDN.

“700 to 900 graduates enter the hospital service every year, but the turnover rate is also very high. Even if more pharmacy students are added, it won’t solve the problem of hospital retention,” said Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Association Deputy Secretary-General Chiu Chien-chiang (邱建強).

Koo Foundation Sun Yat-Sen Cancer Center Pharmacy Department Director Chen Chao-tzu ( 陳昭姿) said that most hospitals have a shortage of pharmacists. Even if hospitals sign bonuses and annual salary increases, it is difficult to retain pharmacists.

Chen said the average annual salary of pharmacists at Taipei area hospitals has reached NT$800,000 (US$24,782). However, few raises and job promotion opportunities lead many to depart.

Pharmacist Shen Tsai-ying (沈采穎) said the average annual salary may not seem low, though pharmacy department graduates spend six years receiving their degree, which is roughly the equivalent of becoming a dentist. Furthermore, pharmacist salaries are just one-quarter of that of doctors.

To lessen pressure on hospital-based pharmacists, Shen said prescription filling duties should be delegated to community-based pharmacies, many of which fill less than 10 prescriptions a day. Shen added that community-based pharmacists also better understand each patient’s medical history.

However, Shen said the National Health Insurance Bureau continues to limit the number of medical personnel at hospitals making it difficult to improve services.