Average 5-Month Wait for a Single Ultrasound Examination at ‘Jungang Bohun Hospital’

Central Veterans Hospital, MRI, CT, and Cystoscopy Average Waiting Time Exceeds 40 Days
Busan Veterans Hospital, Colonoscopy 75.2 Days, Gastroscopy 56.9 Days
Korea Veterans Welfare Medical Corporation, No Improvement Despite Forming Task Force to Re

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] During the National Assembly audit of the Korea Veterans Health Service, it was revealed that the Central Veterans Hospital requires an average waiting time close to 5 months to receive an ultrasound examination.

According to the "National Veterans Hospitals Average Waiting Days by Examination Item" submitted by the Korea Veterans Health Service to Min Hyung-bae, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea (Gwangju Gwangsan-eul), as of July this year, the waiting days for ultrasound examinations at the Central Veterans Hospital reached 146.4 days. This is an increase of 51.8 days compared to the previous year's waiting time of 94.6 days.

Following the Central Veterans Hospital, Incheon Veterans Hospital had a long waiting time of 24.9 days, with Daegu Veterans Hospital and Gwangju Veterans Hospital at 20.8 days and 15.4 days respectively. Busan Hospital was relatively better at 6.9 days.

At the Central Veterans Hospital, besides ultrasound examinations, the average waiting times for four examination items exceeded 40 days: cystoscopy at 42.7 days, CT at 42.5 days, and MRI at 42.3 days. Colonoscopy was recorded at 24.3 days.

Busan Veterans Hospital had the longest average waiting times among the six veterans hospitals for colonoscopy and gastroscopy, at 75.2 days and 56.9 days respectively. Daegu Veterans Hospital also required an average waiting time of over a month, 36.1 days, from registration to examination for colonoscopy.

The Veterans Health Service acknowledges a structural problem where prescriptions exceed the monthly examination capacity by about 136 cases for ultrasound due to the super-aging of national merit recipients and an increase in chronic disease patients.

Analyzing the data, Assemblyman Min Hyung-bae stated, "Although the Service formed a T/F team last February to reduce waiting days, it is questionable what improvements have been made." He pointed out, "It is urgent to enhance medical services by establishing customized measures by hospital and examination item to drastically reduce waiting times."

Meanwhile, the Veterans Health Service has been operating a T/F team since 2020 as a core task to shorten waiting days, but it was revealed that average examination waiting days increased in all hospitals except Daejeon Veterans Hospital compared to the previous year.

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