Starting Next Year, Animal Hospitals Must Also Display Fees for Ultrasound, CT, and MRI Services

Expansion of Posted Items from 12 to 20 Types

Starting January 1st next year, veterinary clinics will also be required to disclose and post fees for ultrasound, CT, MRI, and other diagnostic services.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs announced on the 5th that it has established a notice expanding the list of medical fees that veterinary clinics must post, in order to guarantee the right to know for pet owners and increase their choice in medical treatment.

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Pre-disclosure of veterinary clinic fees has been mandatory since January this year. Currently, clinics must post fees for 12 types of services, such as vaccinations, on their websites. With the establishment of this new notice, eight additional medical service fees must be posted, including blood chemistry tests, electrolyte tests, ultrasound, CT, MRI, heartworm prevention, external parasite prevention, and broad-spectrum deworming, expanding the total to 20 types. However, considering the preparation period needed for cost calculation and other adjustments in the veterinary medical field due to the expanded posting requirements, the system will be implemented starting January 1st next year.

Park Jeong-hoon, Director of Animal Welfare and Environment Policy at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, stated, "We expect that pet owners will have more opportunities to make rational choices by easily comparing the costs of each medical service. We will continue to promote various system improvements to enhance the quality of animal medical care and strive to improve animal welfare."

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