"Government Fails to Present Solutions"
Claims for Operation Centered on Specialists at Tertiary Hospitals
Members of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed fundamental solutions to the medical crisis triggered by the increase in medical school quotas on the 7th, including the introduction of a nationwide primary care physician system, normalization of the medical delivery system, and the establishment of governance to resolve conflicts between the medical community and the government.
The Better Future, a political action and policy opinion group within the Democratic Party, criticized the medical service gap at a press conference held at the National Assembly on the same day and called for a "people-centered medical reform." Kim Yoon, a member of the National Assembly who moderated the press conference, pointed out, "The government's medical measures lack the nationwide primary care physician system and have a narrow scope of reform. They have failed to present measures to address the delayed treatment of cancer patients and the medical service gap for patients with rare diseases."
In this regard, the Better Future proposed measures to reform the entire medical system.
First, they suggested introducing a nationwide primary care physician system where tertiary general hospitals, including the top five large hospitals, focus on treating severe and rare disease patients, while local clinics and primary medical institutions treat mild patients. They proposed reorganizing tertiary general hospitals to be specialist-centered. To address doctors' avoidance of essential medical care, they recommended resolving the imbalance in essential medical fees, strengthening the management of non-reimbursable services, and reforming the structure of indemnity insurance. Additionally, to reduce regional medical disparities, they proposed establishing essential medical cooperation systems within regions and preparing implementation plans for the regional doctor system. Furthermore, strengthening public healthcare by establishing national medical schools and public medical colleges, identifying wasteful expenditures in health insurance finances to enhance coverage, and establishing governance to prevent conflicts between the medical community and the government and medical service gaps that arise during controversies over medical school quota increases were also listed as medical reform tasks.
Kim Seong-hwan, the representative of Better Future, stated, "With the principle of fundamental resolution, the Democratic Party will raise issues and consult with the government and ruling party to minimize medical service gaps, provide better medical services, and ensure that people can live with life and safety regardless of where they live."
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