“Increasing avoidance of essential medical care and deepening regional medical crisis in domestic healthcare”
“36.3% of patients in tertiary hospitals seek treatment in a different city or province from where they reside”,
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Min Young-min, Minister of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, speaking at a central disaster and safety countermeasures meeting of the medical group in Jongno-gu Government Seoul City Hall on the 24th. ⓒYonhap News,
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, ‘The government urged the specialty doctors engaged in collective action, saying “Medical reform is aimed at saving collapsing local healthcare.”‘,
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, ‘On the 24th, Minister Min Young-min of the Ministry of Public Administration and Security held a meeting of the ‘Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters for Medical Group Action’ at the Seoul City Hall and expressed concerns, saying, “The collective action of doctors, which began with the departure of specialists, has been prolonged for over three months and is escalating.”‘,
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, ‘The Minister stated, “Expanding medical school enrollment for the first time in 27 years, to significantly increase the insufficient number of doctors and save collapsing local healthcare is one of the four major tasks of medical reform,” and added, “Reducing the legal burden of medical accidents for doctors, expanding compensation for difficult essential medical care, aims to normalize the healthcare system of South Korea.”‘,
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, ‘He further pointed out that despite the growth of South Korea’s healthcare system to a global level since the introduction of medical insurance in 1977, the avoidance of essential medical care and the crisis in regional healthcare have deepened.’,
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, ‘The Minister said, “In the case of obstetrics and gynecology, specialists are reluctant to choose, and even in large hospitals in Seoul, they have been unable to find chief professors or chief physicians for years,” saying, “The areas vulnerable to childbirth are increasing annually, with 43% of all cities and counties having difficulty accessing obstetrics units within an hour.”‘,
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, ‘He also pointed out, “As the regional disparities in healthcare deepen, 36.3% of patients in tertiary hospitals receive treatment in a city or province other than where they reside,” and mentioned, “The medical expenses for patients from other regions utilizing Seoul’s five major hospitals exceeded 2 trillion won as of 2022.”‘,
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, ‘He then said, “The government is actively promoting the strengthening of compensation for essential medical care demanded by the medical community, the enhancement of severe treatment systems in tertiary hospitals, and the pilot project to shorten the consecutive duty of specialists,” and added, “To establish comprehensive essential medical care in regions, plans to establish a special account for essential medical care and a regional medical development fund with bold financial investments.”‘,
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, ‘The Minister said, “The government is continuously strengthening the emergency medical care system focused on critical and emergency cases by closely examining the medical situation by medical institutions,” and said, “547 public health doctors and military medical officers were dispatched to areas with shortages of medical personnel, centered on tertiary hospitals and regional emergency medical centers.”‘,
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, ‘In addition, towards the specialists who have been engaged in collective action for over three months, he urged, “Come out as a platform for dialogue and help reform the broader framework of South Korea’s healthcare system” and said, “We urge you, the future key figures in healthcare, to return to the patients and express your opinions fully at the site.”‘,
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