Six Medical Service Areas Including Mokpo Classified
Managed as 'Supply-Restricted', 'Supply-Adjusted', and 'Supply-Available' Regions
Jeonnam Province will implement a bed supply and demand management plan starting in May to operate an effective medical system. Photo shows a ward room at Gangjin Medical Center. Provided by Jeonnam Province.
Jeollanam-do will conduct an administrative notice of its 3rd Hospital Bed Supply and Demand Management Plan (2023?2027), established to resolve regional healthcare imbalances through efficient and systematic allocation of hospital bed resources, until the 29th of this month, and will officially implement it starting in May.
The hospital bed supply and demand management plan was established in accordance with the "Basic Policy on Hospital Bed Supply and Demand" announced by the government (Ministry of Health and Welfare) to maintain an appropriate level of hospital beds and reduce unnecessary medical expenses through efficient allocation of bed resources. The plan was formulated after consultation with the Provincial Health and Medical Review Committee.
Jeollanam-do classified its 22 cities and counties into six medical service areas: Mokpo, Yeosu, Suncheon, Naju, Haenam, and Yeonggwang. Based on the hospital bed supply over the past five years, population projections, length of stay, bed utilization rates, and in-outflow indices, the province analyzed the supply and demand by region and bed type through 2027.
Based on this analysis, the six medical service areas will be categorized as ▲ supply-restricted ▲ supply-adjusted ▲ supply-available regions, and hospital bed supply will be managed systematically. The procedures for establishing new medical institutions and changing existing ones will also be further strengthened.
However, considering that 17 out of Jeollanam-do's 22 cities and counties are designated as emergency medical vulnerable areas, the expansion of beds for essential and public healthcare in these vulnerable areas will be flexibly permitted. In addition, the plan includes policies to strengthen regional healthcare, such as preparing separate exception regulations to allow for the establishment of a national university hospital in the future.
Lee Sangsim, Director of Health and Welfare for Jeollanam-do, said, "We will manage the number of hospital beds in Jeollanam-do at an appropriate level to improve regional healthcare system imbalances and control increases in medical expenses, thereby providing high-quality medical services."
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