Jo Gyu-hong Discusses Policy with Senior Officials from Australia and France on Increasing Medical School Quotas

Attending OECD Health Ministers Meeting on the 23rd
Discussing Medical School Quota Effects and Healthcare Workforce Supply

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong attended the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Health Ministers Meeting to discuss improvements to the health care system and the issue of expanding medical school quotas.

Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare

On the 24th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that Minister Cho attended the OECD Health Ministers Meeting held in Paris, France on the 23rd, where discussions were held on "Better Policies for More Resilient Health Systems."

At this meeting, held for the first time in seven years since 2017, OECD member countries exchanged views on strengthening health care systems in light of lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic and preparing for future health care shocks.

Minister Cho held meetings with Matthias Cormann, OECD Secretary-General, and Blair Comley, Deputy Secretary of the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care (Vice Chair of the OECD Health Ministers Meeting), discussing key tasks to enhance the resilience of health care systems such as digital health and securing medical personnel.

In particular, Minister Cho focused on the fact that the number of medical school graduates in Australia increased by 1,360 (51%) from 2,662 in 2010 to 4,022 in 2019, and during his meeting with Deputy Secretary Blair Comley, they discussed the effects of expanding medical school quotas, methods for estimating medical workforce supply and demand, and ways to overcome regional disparities.

He also met with Agn?s Bocognano, Secretary-General of France’s National Demographic Observatory of Health Professionals (ONDPS), to discuss France’s policies on reasonable estimation of medical workforce supply and securing personnel.

France increased its medical school quotas from 3,850 in 2000 to about 10,000 in 2020. In 2021, ONDPS recommended to the French Ministry of Health that medical school quotas be further increased by 20% from 2016?2020 levels for the period 2021?2025, based on projections of the appropriate number of medical personnel through 2040.

After visiting France, Minister Cho plans to visit Japan to review measures implemented by the Japanese government to secure medical personnel and to hear opinions from experts and stakeholders.