30 Clinics Billed for 'General Anesthesia Procedures' Without Operating Rooms in First Half of Year

Lack of Investigation and Oversight Threatens Patient Safety
Surgery-Related Cases Account for the Most Medical Disputes Over the Past Five Years

It has been revealed that, in the first half of this year alone, as many as 30 surgical clinics billed for general anesthesia procedures without having an operating room.

According to Yonhap News on October 17, Assemblywoman Kim Sunmin of the Innovation Party for the Homeland, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, cited data submitted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare showing that, from January to June this year, a total of 435 surgical clinics billed for general anesthesia procedures.

Among these, 30 clinics had not even reported the installation of an operating room. Of the remaining 405 clinics, only 10 (2.4%) had installed a ventilator. Only 284 clinics (70.1%) were equipped with an electrocardiogram monitor.

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According to the current Enforcement Rules of the Medical Service Act, medical institutions performing general anesthesia surgeries are required to install an operating room and be equipped with a ventilator, airway intubation maintenance devices, and electrocardiogram monitors. However, some equipment is not subject to reporting requirements, making it difficult to verify whether it has actually been installed.

Assemblywoman Kim pointed out, "Although the Ministry of Health and Welfare has been promoting mandatory operating rooms and emergency equipment for clinic-level medical institutions for the past 10 years, there has been virtually no actual investigation or oversight," adding, "Patient safety continues to be neglected."

In 2015, after a series of deaths during plastic surgery procedures, the government announced the "Measures to Strengthen the Protection of Surgical Patients' Rights and Safety Management." However, it was revealed that since then, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has conducted only one actual investigation, in 2017.

Experts stressed, "It is extremely dangerous for general anesthesia to be administered at clinics that have not even reported the installation of an operating room," adding, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare should immediately conduct a comprehensive investigation and require all essential equipment to be subject to reporting requirements."

According to the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, over the past five years, surgery-related cases accounted for 42.6% of all applications for medical dispute mediation, the highest proportion. Experts warn that, even if systems are in place, the continued lack of oversight could lead to repeated medical accidents.