A New Deregulation Package Unveiled
The South Korean government announced on Oct. 24 a new package of measures aimed at promoting innovation-led growth and creating jobs.
The package included measures to ease regulations in the healthcare sector. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will publish a manual in March next year to clarify the scope of health management services that can be provided by non-medical institutions.
In addition, the ministry is going to provide a clearer interpretation of the medical treatment activities stipulated in the Medical Service Act so that the health management market can be further expanded.
The move is a response to criticisms that the act does not clearly distinguish health management services from medical treatment activities, which are limited to medical personnel. Critics have argued that the ambiguity of the law has deterred the commercialization of smart medical services.
In addition, the ministry is planning to allow innovative and advanced medical equipment such as medical robots and those based on artificial intelligence to be designated as new medical technologies even with insufficient clinical trial cases. This is to help them enter the market with greater ease. Moreover, the ministry is going to have more of innovative medical treatment materials covered by the health insurance system.
The government is planning to introduce telemedicine for patients with dementia or reduced mobility and in remote island areas in stages next year. Pilot projects are scheduled to be launched based on the existing home nursing service for senior citizens.
Home nursing based on telemedicine will be allowed depending on the patients’ conditions. A new insurance fee system is prepared for cooperative telemedicine between medical specialists and general practitioners and between central medical institutions and clinics.