Legislative Council Meeting Held After About 3 Months Since Agreement... Discussion on COVID-19 Response

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korean Medical Association (KMA) held their first medical-government consultative meeting in over three months since the September 4 medical-government agreement, officially beginning discussions.

On the afternoon of the 16th, the Ministry and the KMA held the 1st meeting of the medical-government consultative body at the Healthcare Institution Evaluation and Accreditation Institute, discussing the operation plan of the consultative body, agenda items, and cooperation measures for responding to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Attending the meeting from the Ministry were Lee Chang-jun, Director of Health and Medical Policy; Kim Guk-il, Head of Health and Medical Policy Division; Kim Hyun-sook, Head of Medical Workforce Policy Division; Lee Jung-gyu, Head of Insurance Benefits Division; and Yoo Jeong-min, Team Leader of Health and Medical Innovation Team. From the KMA, Vice President Kang Dae-sik, Han Jae-min, President of the Korean Intern Resident Association, Planning Director Jo Min-ho, Policy Director Seong Jong-ho, and Insurance Director Byun Hyeong-gyu participated.

The Ministry and the KMA agreed to discuss fostering and supporting essential medical services, improving the medical delivery system, developing regional medical support measures such as regional medical fees, restructuring the Health Insurance Policy Deliberation Committee, and improving the training environment for residents.

The expansion of medical school quotas and the establishment of a national medical school will be discussed after the stabilization of COVID-19, according to the September 4 medical-government agreement. The criteria for COVID-19 stabilization will be determined through mutual agreement between the medical and government sides, comprehensively considering trends in confirmed cases, social distancing levels, healthcare system response capacity, and the status of treatments and vaccines.

The consultative body will meet 2 to 4 times per month, either weekly or biweekly, with meeting dates set separately depending on the agenda items.

On this day, both sides discussed support measures for medical personnel responding to COVID-19, improvements to training regulations for residents supporting COVID-19 efforts, joint operation of COVID-19 base hospitals, and activation plans for respiratory specialty clinics.

Securing medical personnel capable of treating COVID-19 patients is an urgent matter, and it was agreed to establish support procedures so that the disaster medical support teams organized and recruited by the KMA can work effectively on the front lines.

Additionally, to allow residents to voluntarily support COVID-19 prevention and treatment sites as autonomous doctors, institutional improvements will be pursued, such as recognizing exceptions to the prohibition on working at other institutions if they have worked at COVID-19 related institutions.

The KMA explained that support for medical personnel responding to COVID-19 will be promoted based on the consent of the individuals involved, and especially that residents’ support for COVID-19 prevention and treatment sites should be carried out voluntarily according to their own will.

The Ministry and the KMA agreed to form a separate consultative body to discuss matters related to COVID-19 response and to conduct additional discussions starting this Friday.

The 2nd meeting of the medical-government consultative body is scheduled to be held on the 23rd.

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