Government to Soon Unveil Implementation Plan for ER Ping-Pong Countermeasures

First in the Honam Region

The government will soon release a detailed operational plan for what is commonly called the "ER Ping-Pong Countermeasures."

Reference image. Yonhap News

According to the medical community on the 22nd, the Ministry of Health and Welfare is scheduled to hold a briefing on the 25th to announce the implementation plan for the "Pilot Project for Innovation of the Emergency Patient Transport System."

The pilot project is reportedly aimed first at severe patients who fall under Levels 1 and 2 out of the five levels of KTAS (Korean Triage and Acuity Scale). For only the most severe patients with higher triage levels, such as those with cardiac arrest or cerebral hemorrhage, the National Medical Center’s Regional Emergency Medical Control Center will directly designate the receiving hospital.

One of the side effects the medical community is most concerned about is the potential for legal disputes over treatment outcomes for "ambiguous" patients whose condition lies between severe and mild, such as those in Level 3. There is concern that emergency room doctors could end up bearing civil and criminal liability alone, while judgments made in the severity classification and transport process are excluded from consideration.

In response, the medical community is calling for institutional safety mechanisms to be included in the pilot project’s operational plan to protect medical staff.

Meanwhile, this pilot project is centered on resolving delays in emergency patient transport caused by hospitals refusing to provide treatment. To this end, the regional control center will monitor medical resources in real time and directly designate the receiving hospital.

Starting next month, it will first be implemented in the Honam region, including Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, and North Jeolla Province. After an evaluation, the plan is to expand it nationwide.