Increase Hospitals Open During Lunar New Year Holidays and Raise Emergency Room and Holiday Treatment Fees

Two-Week Emergency Response Period Starting from the 22nd
Focused Treatment for Respiratory Infections at Fever Clinics and Cooperative Hospitals
Prompt Support for Transfer and Referral of High-Risk Pregnant Women and Newborns

The government is implementing intensive support measures to minimize gaps in outpatient care during the Lunar New Year holiday period by securing as many open hospitals and clinics as possible and raising nighttime and holiday fees to maintain the emergency medical system.

On the 16th, Cho Kyu-hong, Minister of Health and Welfare, held a meeting of the Central Countermeasures Headquarters for the doctors' collective action to discuss the "Special Measures to Maintain the Emergency Medical System for the Lunar New Year Holiday."

First, the period from the 22nd of this month to the 5th of next month will be designated as the "Emergency Response Week for the Lunar New Year Holiday." During this period, consultation fees for open hospitals and dispensing fees for pharmacies will be increased by an additional 20% on top of the holiday surcharge. For patients with respiratory diseases, treatment will be provided at 115 fever clinics and 197 respiratory disease cooperative hospitals nationwide, allowing emergency rooms to focus on patients with conditions other than respiratory diseases. The nationwide Dalbit Children's Hospitals (103 locations) and Children's Hospitals (114 locations) will also be requested to operate as much as possible during nighttime and holidays through cooperation with local governments and the Korean Society of Pediatric Hospitals.

Consultation fees for emergency medicine specialists will be increased by 250% of the existing fee, and emergency medical procedure fees will be increased by 150%. Nighttime and holiday fees for severe and emergency surgeries at regional and local centers (181 locations) will also be raised from the current 200% to 300%. However, if non-severe emergency patients visit local emergency rooms, a consultation fee surcharge (15,000 KRW) will be applied to prevent overcrowding in large hospital emergency rooms.

Minister Cho stated, "Respiratory disease patients will be guided to fever clinics and respiratory disease cooperative hospitals, and a dedicated 1:1 manager will be assigned to emergency rooms nationwide for thorough management."

For high-risk pregnant women and newborns who experienced difficulties in transfer and referral during last year's Chuseok holiday, prompt transfer support and strengthening of regional response systems will be provided. An obstetrics and neonatology dedicated team will be formed within the Central Emergency Situation Room, and a separate comprehensive bed status board will be established to promptly allocate appropriate medical institutions when transfer or referral requests for high-risk pregnant women occur. Additionally, a rotating on-call system will be expanded and operated for obstetric emergencies such as preterm labor, premature and preterm infants, and separate incentives will be provided for securing reserve beds in neonatal intensive care units and expanding medical staff on duty to accommodate multiple births.

Regarding cerebrovascular diseases, the newly designated 10 regional cerebrovascular disease centers this month will focus on eliminating treatment gaps in vulnerable areas and strengthening a 24-hour response system.

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