Golden time for Korean healthcare reform

This was affirmed by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol at a recent conference on healthcare reform in Seoul. Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized that the government will not back down just because of a few obstacles or objections.

A doctor examines a child patient at a hospital in Korea.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the new healthcare reform policy package includes plans to increase medical staff, strengthen local healthcare services, build a safety net to prevent medical accidents and increase fairness in compensation. A special presidential committee on healthcare reform will be established. According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the ratio of doctors per 1,000 people in South Korea is 5.6, much lower than the average among member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

At the conference, President Yoon Suk-yeol pledged to deploy adequate medical personnel and expand regional talent recruitment to strengthen medical personnel and build a local medical network. In addition, the government will reduce legal risks caused by medical accidents and introduce a new plan to fairly compensate doctors and improve the related system for medical incidents so that doctors can focus on treating patients while victims of medical incidents are fully compensated. The government will also establish a fair remuneration system for essential medical staff, especially those in high-risk departments or those who are on duty frequently. In addition, President Yoon Suk-yeol also pledged to drastically reform the hospital fee guarantee system and regulations on non-payment of health insurance, which are inciting medical abuse and market disruption.

The South Korean government is pushing ahead with plans to increase the annual enrollment quota for medical schools by at least 1,000 from the current 3,058 starting in 2025. The move comes as the number of doctors graduating each year in South Korea is not enough to meet current medical needs, leading to a shortage of doctors in suburban and remote areas, as well as in essential areas, including pediatrics and emergency care. The Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA) recently predicted that South Korea will be short of 27,232 doctors by 2035.

Healthcare reform has become a hot issue in South Korea following a major strike last July. Tens of thousands of South Korean medical workers went on a general strike, demanding improved working conditions and increased support for public health facilities. The move disrupted operations at many hospitals across the country. Among those taking part in the strike were staff from major general hospitals such as Korea University Anam and Guro Hospitals, Kyunghee University Hospital, Hanyang University Hospital, and Pusan National University Hospital (PNUH). The strikers made a number of demands, including greater integration of nursing and health care services, as well as enacting a law that requires one nurse to care for only five patients.

SOUTH

Source