The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has announced that South Korea has become one of three nations, alongside Switzerland and Singapore, officially listed on the World Health Organization's (WHO) first-round roster of WHO Listed Authorities (WLA).The WLA system is a recent initiative by WHO,
A bill has been introduced that would prohibit doctors from "self-prescribing" psychotropic medications. The bill also seeks to keep doctors from prescribing such drugs to their family members.Rep. Suh Jung-sook of the People Power Party proposed the “Amendment to the Narcotics Control Act” on Monda
Parents of children under the age of two will no longer bear out-of-pocket expenses if their child is hospitalized in Korea in 2024.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said that the partial amendment to the National Health Insurance Act, which includes such content, was approved in a cabinet meeting
The RIGHT (Research Investment for Global Health Technology) Foundation, Korea's first funding agency dedicated to supporting global health R&D via the Korean government, is poised to usher in a fresh wave of transformative health solutions."Beginning Nov. 1, the foundation is inviting proposals for
The operation of pediatric emergency care hospitals across the country is severely deteriorating. This is evidenced by the fact that only 27.4 percent of hospitals can provide emergency care for pediatric patients 24 hours a day.If the current trend of physicians' reluctance towards this specialty p
The Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) said on Monday it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) to enhance cooperation in food and medical products.The MFDS said it is the first time it signed an MOU with a country in the Middle East, alt
The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that Korea should explore avenues for permitting stem cell treatments beyond the scope of research.The ministry addressed a written query from Rep. Kang Gi-yun of the People Power Party, who raised concerns about South Koreans seeking stem cell therapy abroa
Premier Partners has been chosen as the manager of the K-Bio and Vaccine 2nd Fund.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Friday that it has selected Premier Partners as the lead manager of the K-Bio and Vaccine Fund No. 2 and will proceed with the priority formation process for the currently raised
Starting in 2024, Korea will sit on the World Health Organization (WHO) Executive Board to co-initiate international health strategies and responses to global health issues.The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Friday that Korea was nominated as one of the two countries to serve on the WHO Executi
A recent state audit has revealed that doctors and nurses in Korea can retain their medical licenses even if they struggle with drug addiction.Moreover, there have been confirmed instances of doctors who, despite losing their licenses, continue to practice and prescribe non-insured drugs, prompting
The entire nation is buzzing about the expansion of the medical school enrollment quota.No one knows how many medical school students will be added or how they will be allocated. Still, private academies are stepping up their "medical school marketing," and localities have joined the race to secure
Expanding the medical school enrollment quota emerged as a key issue in Wednesday’s parliament audits of the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) and the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA).Asked how much medical school students should be increased, the heads of both organizati
The prescription of choline alfoscerate-based drugs for dementia prevention has increased annually, although they have not been proven effective in preventing dementia, according to a lawmaker.Rep. Nam In-soon of the Democratic Party of Korea said so Wednesday after analyzing relevant data from the
Korea's decade-long fight against tuberculosis (TB) to shed the stigma of having the highest disease incidence among OECD countries is at risk of regression.The rapid decline in the incidence rate from 100 per 100,000 people in 2020 to 39.8 in 2022 was due to active TB control and screening for late
Critics have pointed out that there are many side effects, such as the worsening of health insurance finances, due to measures to strengthen health insurance coverage in the so-called Mooncare, thus named after former President Moon Jae-in.However, a recent analysis showed that Mooncare has had cons
A lawmaker criticized the incumbent government's stance that a policy to strengthen health insurance coverage under the previous Moon Jae-in administration led to a fiscal crisis, saying it is "deceiving the public."Rep. Kang Eun-mi of the splinter Justice Party, a member of the National Assembly's
The medical community is cautious about adding more doctors, but the political community’s pressure is intense.After the government announced its intention to increase the medical school enrollment quota, politicians demanded that it be allocated to new medical schools.The government has decided to
The government’s loose management of psychotropic medicines, classified as narcotics, was put on the chopping block of the National Assembly’s administrative audit.Lawmakers pointed out that reasons for “medical shopping,” in which people visit 135 medical institutions a year to get sleeping anesthe
The government should expand medical personnel and hospital beds to prepare for the resurge of Covid-19 cases during the coming winter, a lawmaker said Friday."Despite the serious situation where the number of new Covid-19 cases and deaths continue to increase, the numbers of medical personnel and d
One in four Koreans experiences mental illness at least once in their lives.Still, the share of mental health outlay in the government’s total healthcare budget falls far short of the 5 percent, as recommended by the World Health Organization, according to a report.Rep. Kang Eun-mi, a member of the