Supreme Court: Prescription Issued by Nurse Assistant Following Phone Instructions Also Considered Doctor's Decision... Not an Unlicensed Act

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Supreme Court has overturned the suspension of a doctor's license who had instructed a nursing assistant to issue prescriptions to patients visiting the hospital during the doctor's absence, ruling that the suspension was wrongful and remanding the case. The court's decision implies that the doctor's actions did not violate the Medical Service Act and that the trial should be reconsidered.

The Supreme Court's Second Division (Presiding Justice Kim Sang-hwan) announced on the 27th that it overturned the lower court's ruling, which had dismissed the lawsuit filed by Doctor A seeking to cancel the suspension of his medical license, and sent the case back to the Daejeon High Court with a ruling in favor of the plaintiff.

Doctor A, who operated a psychiatric clinic, received a suspension of his medical license for 2 months and 10 days in February 2013 on the grounds that, during his absence, a nursing assistant issued prescriptions for three patients. This was deemed a violation of the former Medical Service Act Article 17, Paragraph 1, which stipulates that "only a medical professional who has directly examined the patient may write and issue or send prescriptions to patients." A challenged this decision by filing an administrative appeal with the Central Administrative Appeals Commission, which was rejected, leading him to file a lawsuit.

A claimed, "I confirmed the patients' conditions through telephone conversations and instructed the nursing assistant to simply input the prescription details."

The first and second trials held that "A allowed the nursing assistant to perform essential acts related to 'prescription' that are permitted only to medical professionals," and thus upheld the suspension of the license as justified. However, the Supreme Court held a different view.

The court stated, "(The patients in question) had previously been examined and received prescriptions from A, so if he instructed to 'prescribe the same as before,' the content of the prescription was decided by the doctor, not the nursing assistant."

Furthermore, the court said, "Since the doctor decided the content of the prescription and instructed its preparation and issuance, the act of a nurse or nursing assistant preparing and issuing the prescription according to the doctor's instructions cannot be considered unauthorized medical practice prohibited under the former Medical Service Act."