"Thoroughly disinfected for single reuse... No problem," claim
Court rules "Unethical medical practice," plaintiff loses
A court has ruled that the suspension of a Korean medicine doctor's license for reusing disposable multi-needles (medical devices with multiple needles) is justified.
On the 29th, Yonhap News reported, "The Seoul Administrative Court, Administrative Division 1 (Presiding Judge Yang Sang-yoon) ruled on July 12 that the lawsuit filed by Korean medicine doctor A against the Minister of Health and Welfare, seeking to cancel the suspension of his license, was dismissed."
According to Yonhap News, A, who has operated a Korean medicine clinic in Jung-gu, Daegu since 2002, reused disposable multi-needles on 11 patients after sterilizing them from March 2017 to December 2018. The Ministry of Health and Welfare determined that this act constituted an 'immoral medical practice' as defined in Article 32, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 2 of the former Medical Service Act Enforcement Decree, and imposed a one-month suspension of A's Korean medicine doctor license. In response, A filed an appeal, arguing that he reused the needles only once after thorough sterilization and that there were no health issues for the patients, thus it was not an immoral medical practice. He also claimed that the penalty was excessive and that the Ministry had abused and exceeded its discretionary authority.
However, the court rejected A's claims, stating, "The plaintiff's procedure involves medical instruments, methods, and content, as well as the possibility of skin damage and infection, and is an act (medical practice) that requires medical professionals to perform based on medical expertise, experience, and skills to prevent potential health and hygiene risks." The court further noted, "A performed a procedure using a device equipped with disposable multi-needles measuring 0.25 to 0.5 mm in length to stimulate the skin and aid the absorption of cosmetics. Reusing needles carries risks such as infection, and sterilization alone cannot be considered sufficient to completely prevent these risks."
Additionally, the court pointed out, "Medical professionals' duties directly affect the life and health of the public, thus a very high level of compliance awareness is required. Considering the number of violations, duration, and the number of affected patients, the degree of illegality cannot be regarded as minor." Finally, the court dismissed the plaintiff's claim, stating, "The public interest goals of protecting patients' health, establishing medical order, securing medical professionals' ethical responsibility and accountability, and restoring public trust in medical institutions and practices outweigh the disadvantages suffered by A due to the penalty."
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