Strengthening Compensation for ICU and 24-Hour Care in Secondary General Hospitals

Final Discussions Underway for the 'Second Medical Reform Implementation Plan'

On the 13th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare held a joint meeting of the Delivery System and Regional Medical Specialist Committee and the Fair Compensation and Essential Medical Specialist Committee under the Special Committee on Medical Reform to discuss support and compensation measures for regional hospitals, one of the medical reform tasks.

On August 30 last year, Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, briefed the main outcomes of the 6th Medical Reform Special Committee meeting, including the expansion of medical personnel and base hospitals, at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

At the meeting, detailed criteria and specific support and compensation systems for the 'Comprehensive Secondary Hospital' support project were discussed. This project aims to designate comprehensive hospitals that can serve as hubs by encompassing regional medical demand and performing essential medical functions such as emergency care, thereby playing a central role in regional healthcare.

First, regarding the designation criteria for Comprehensive Secondary Hospitals, it was suggested that these hospitals should possess capabilities such as comprehensiveness and essential functions, considering their roles within the medical delivery system, including tertiary general hospitals. It was emphasized that designation and operation should encourage cooperation rather than competition. In particular, there was consensus on strengthening compensation for intensive care units and 24-hour treatment to enable these hospitals to focus their capabilities on comprehensive secondary functions, and on establishing a performance support system for appropriate secondary care.

To support the essential specialized functions of regional secondary hospitals, it was pointed out that instead of scaling up to tertiary general hospitals or comprehensive secondary hospitals, conditions should be created to specialize in essential specialized functions such as pediatrics, obstetrics, and trauma if these functions are excellent. Additionally, there was agreement on the need to establish an institution-level performance evaluation system tailored to the specialized functions of each hospital.

Based on the discussions held that day, the government plans to concretize support and compensation measures for regional hospitals and announce them soon as part of the 'Second Medical Reform Implementation Plan.'

No Yeonhong, chairman of the Medical Reform Special Committee, stated, "Solving the inefficient medical delivery system in a super-aged society is an urgent task that can no longer be postponed," adding, "Based on today's discussions, we will strive to prepare support measures for regional secondary hospitals and announce them in the near future."