104 Medical Institutions Participate in 'Fifth-Stage Western-Korean Collaborative Care Pilot Project'

Application of Copayment Rate to 'Collaborative Consultation Fee' Previously Covered by Health Insurance

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on June 16 that a five-stage pilot project aimed at promoting collaborative treatment between Western and Korean medicine has been launched.

The pilot project for Western-Korean collaborative care, which first began in 2016, is designed to provide more systematic collaborative services between Western and Korean medicine by applying a standardized collaboration model.

Currently, if a patient receives treatment for the same illness at two different medical institutions on the same day, health insurance does not cover the second visit, requiring the patient to pay the full cost. However, under the pilot project, if treatment is received according to the collaborative care model at participating institutions, health insurance will also cover the second visit.

Physicians and Korean medicine doctors will receive a newly established consultation fee as compensation for collaborative care. For an initial visit to a Korean medicine hospital, the fee is set at 21,390 won. In the previous four phases of the pilot project, this consultation fee was fully covered by the national health insurance fund. However, in the fifth stage, the statutory copayment rate will be applied for conditions such as musculoskeletal disorders. This adjustment is intended to evaluate effectiveness and acceptability, as this is the final pilot phase.

A total of 104 institutions have been selected to participate in this pilot project through a public application process, an increase of 18 compared to the fourth phase. Eligible participants include medical institutions at the hospital level or higher that operate both Western and Korean medicine departments simultaneously, or institutions at the same location established by the same representative that offer both types of care.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to conduct the fifth-stage pilot project until December 2027, after which it will evaluate the results and consider transitioning to a full-scale project from 2028 onward.

Jung Younghoon, Director of Korean Medicine Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, stated, "We will ensure that the public can access Western-Korean collaborative care services without inconvenience, taking into account the complex and diverse medical needs arising from aging and other factors." He also requested, "We ask participating institutions to cooperate so that collaborative care services between Western and Korean medicine can be further activated through the provision of appropriate services to patients involved in the pilot project."