"How Far Does Nurse Medical Support Go?" ... Ministry of Health and Welfare Calls for Pilot Operation Hospitals

Validation of the Management and Operation System for Medical Support Personnel

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Ministry of Health and Welfare is launching a pilot project to clearly define the scope of work performed by Physician Assistants (PA) within medical institutions.

The Ministry announced on the 6th that it will invite medical institutions to participate in the "Feasibility Verification of the Management and Operation System for Physician Assistants" until the 28th of this month.

Physician Assistants refer to personnel who assist doctors in medical activities such as diagnosis, examination, treatment, and surgery, and are called "PA (Physician Assistant)" in medical settings. Until now, there has been ongoing confusion and controversy over illegal medical practices regarding the extent of tasks that PAs, including nurses, can perform while assisting doctors.

Accordingly, the government decided to clearly define the scope of work for Physician Assistants to eliminate the possibility of illegal medical practices and prepared an "Operation System Plan for Physician Assistants" last year through an industry-academic cooperation foundation.

Medical institutions participating in the verification will establish a new management and medical system tailored to each institution based on the operation system prepared by the government, on a pilot basis for one year from this year to next year. Medical institutions will form a "Physician Assistant Operation Committee" and prepare "Management and Operation Guidelines for Physician Assistants" to distribute to each medical department.

However, if the tasks assigned to Physician Assistants in the self-prepared operation guidelines are ambiguous regarding whether they can be performed within the scope of licenses or qualifications, the government plans to review the related guidelines through consultations with an advisory group.

Medical institutions wishing to participate can submit an application form and operation plan to the Ministry of Health and Welfare within the designated period.

Lee Chang-jun, Director of Health and Medical Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "The principle is to operate under the responsibility of the head of the medical institution within the existing licensing system, and to establish a management and operation system suitable for the conditions of each medical institution." He added, "We will actively support participating institutions and consider additional incentives that can be linked."

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