Gyeonggi-do Offers Free Copies of Surgery Consent Forms Following 'Operating Room CCTV' Initiative

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province is set to promote the "free issuance of copies of surgical consent forms" following the operation of "CCTV in operating rooms," a core health care policy of Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province.

Medical institutions are currently required to explain surgical details to patients and obtain their consent before surgery. Patients can request a copy of the consent form according to the Medical Service Act.

However, patients must pay a medical record copy fee of up to 1,000 KRW per page to receive a copy of the consent form. Requesting multiple copies of the consent form can become a financial burden.

Accordingly, the province will conduct a pilot project to issue copies of surgical consent forms free of charge at Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center starting as early as next month.

The surgical consent form format will also be revised. The province will change the existing form, which was ambiguously worded because the attending physician (explaining doctor) and the surgeon were the same person, to clearly specify who the surgeon and participating medical staff are starting next month.

The surgical consent form contains information about the necessity of surgery, methods, patient compliance requirements, and participating surgeons, ensuring the patient's right to know and health rights.

Additionally, by providing information about the participating surgeons, the province expects that, together with the "operating room CCTV," it will effectively prevent ghost surgeries and proxy surgeries.

The free issuance of surgical consent form copies is one of the policy proposals submitted by residents in the "New Gyeonggi Proposal Contest 2020, Idea Contest."

The province plans to propose an amendment to the Medical Service Act to include a clause mandating the issuance of surgical consent form copies so that this project can be expanded to all medical institutions.

Since installing operating room CCTV for the first time nationwide at Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center Anseong Hospital in October 2018, the province expanded it to six hospitals under the Gyeonggi Medical Center in May last year.

At the end of last year, the installation was further expanded to Pocheon Hospital of Gyeonggi Medical Center and the newborn room of the Gyeonggi Yeoju Public Postpartum Care Center.

A provincial official stated, "Following the operating room CCTV, we expect that the free issuance of surgical consent form copies will help build trust between patients and medical staff and fulfill patients' right to know," adding, "We will ensure smooth implementation so that Gyeonggi Province can play a leading role in creating a safe health care environment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.