From 'Public Late-Night Pharmacies' to the 'Good Samaritan Act'... Medical Community Focuses on National Assembly Judiciary Committee

Public late-night pharmacy signboard. [Photo by Asia Economy DB]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] Attention from the health and medical community is focused on the full meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee scheduled for the 16th. A number of significant bills will be presented, including the formal introduction of public late-night pharmacies and the so-called 'Good Samaritan Law,' which exempts emergency medical personnel from criminal liability for emergency medical acts performed when not on duty.

On this day, a total of 134 bills will be discussed in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Among them, the bill that the health and medical community is most focused on is the amendment to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. The amendment primarily includes provisions to establish a legal basis for the designation and budget support of public late-night pharmacies, which are currently being promoted as a pilot project. Specifically, it allows local government heads to designate pharmacies that sell pharmaceuticals and quasi-drugs during late-night hours and holidays, and permits operational expenses to be supported within the budget scope of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and each local government for the designated public late-night pharmacies.

Public late-night pharmacies, which began pilot operation last July with the participation of 61 pharmacies nationwide, open from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. the next day, alleviating the inconvenience of purchasing medicines at night and enabling safe medication use through pharmacists' medication guidance. Although some over-the-counter drugs can be purchased at convenience stores, medication guidance is difficult to provide, raising safety concerns. In the case of medicine vending machines, although designated as a regulatory sandbox, strong opposition from the pharmacists' association has caused ongoing difficulties. Therefore, the formal introduction of public late-night pharmacies, which can provide medication guidance as well as dispense prescribed medicines after night-time medical treatment, is expected to improve pharmacy accessibility during vulnerable hours.

Additionally, the amendment to the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act includes provisions allowing the use of drugs under clinical trials abroad for treatment purposes in certain situations. This aims to expand patient choice when treating patients with serious diseases such as terminal cancer or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), or emergency patients whose lives are at risk or who have no alternative treatment options. The amendment also includes a measure requiring contract sales organizations (CSOs), which perform drug sales promotion on behalf of pharmaceutical companies, to report to local governments.

The handling of the amendment to the Emergency Medical Service Act, which reduces criminal liability if an emergency medical worker performs emergency medical care while off duty and the patient dies without gross negligence, is also attracting attention. Previously, only injury cases were included in the reduction of criminal liability, but this has been expanded to include death. If the amendment passes, it is expected that qualified medical personnel or emergency rescuers will be able to engage more actively in rescue activities during urgent disasters or accidents.

Furthermore, the amendment to the Medical Dispute Mediation Act, which makes the state responsible for 'no-fault delivery accidents,' will also be presented to this Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Previously, even in unavoidable medical accidents without medical personnel fault, 30% of the compensation fund was borne by medical institutions, which the medical community has pointed out as a factor causing obstetrics departments, essential medical providers, to be avoided. The amendment stipulates that the state will bear the full cost.

Since these amendments have come from the Health and Welfare Committee as committee alternatives, it is expected that there will be no issues in passing the plenary session if they pass the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The relevant ministries are also on high alert. At the Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting, Lee Ki-il, First Vice Minister, and Park Min-soo, Second Vice Minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, as well as Oh Yu-kyung, Commissioner of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, are scheduled to attend.

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