About 8,000 doctors prescribed medical narcotics to themselves annually for the past three years, prompting calls for banning doctors from self-prescribing narcotic drugs by law.These and other facts were revealed at a public debate organized by Rep. Choi Youn-suk of the ruling People Power Party (P
As the number of shingles vaccinations among older adults has steadily increased, the government must work out measures, including free vaccinations for the elderly and vulnerable people, a lawmaker said Monday.Rep. In Jae-geun of the Democratic Party of Korea made these and other points based on an
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said it will commence the first phase of the national immunization program (NIP) for influenza from Wednesday.During the first phase, the KDCA plans to target children under 13, including infants.According to the KDCA, it will vaccinate children
The number of people treated for depression and anxiety disorders among workers in childcare and educational facilities has nearly doubled in the past five years.Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the Democratic Party of Korea analyzed the National Health Insurance Service's data titled "Current Status of Depr
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) said it is pushing for a swift introduction and distribution of a new vaccine developed specifically to counter the XBB 1.5, an Omicron sub-variant, for the 2023-24 winter season.Responding to a request from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency
In the recent pilot program for telemedicine, over 57.2 percent of the prescribed medications were non-reimbursed drugs, a survey showed.The survey, conducted by the Korean Pharmaceutical Association (KPA) during the telemedicine pilot program run between June and August, was on 1,142 member pharmac
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has rolled up its sleeves to support the development of homegrown anticancer drugs by, for instance, providing customized counseling and clinical trial design support.Kim Young-rim, head of the Drug Review Division at the National Institute of Food and Dru
The Ministry of Trade Industry and Energy said on Monday that the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS) division’s new proposal (NP) for the brain-computer interface (BCI) data format was approved at the BCI International Standardization Organization (ISO/IECJTC1SC43) plenary meeting hel
A report has unveiled that over the past three years (2020-2023), one out of 10 doctors in Korea self-prescribed narcotic drugs. Remarkably, one in every four of these professionals has consistently self-prescribed narcotic drugs annually during that period. According to a Ministry of Food and Drug
A survey shows that an information gap on Covid-19 vaccines is emerging between infectious disease specialists and general practitioners who directly administer vaccines to patients.The Korean Association of Medical Journalists (KAM) released the "Public and Expert Perception Survey on Covid-19 Vacc
A bill that defines digital healthcare and deals with information subjects and its utilization methods is drawing the industry’s attention.Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) recently proposed the “Act on the use of digital healthcare and health and medical data.”T
The Korean health authorities reported the first confirmed case of a Korean patient infected with the BA.2.86 variant of Covid-19, also known as "Pirola," believed to possess a high degree of immune evasion.The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) said Wednesday that it detected the Pirola va
The Korean Medical Association (KMA) and the Korean Hospital Association (KHA) have petitioned the Constitutional Court to review and temporarily halt the enforcement of the revised medical law, which mandates the installation of closed-circuit TV (CCTV) cameras in operating rooms from Sept. 25.The
A report by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) urged the Korean government to revise the tariff system for vaccine raw materials to support the Korean vaccine industry. KHIDI is a government-funded organization promoting the growth of the Korean health industry.According to the
The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), which has been in a legal battle against tobacco companies for damage compensation worth 53.3 billion won ($40.4 million) for nine years, draws renewed attention by presenting results that prove the causal link between smoking and cancer.In 2014, NHIS fi
Korea is expected to become one of three nations that have succeeded in developing an anthrax vaccine after developing the vaccine for 26 years.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDA) said Thursday that it will apply for a product license for a domestically developed anthrax vaccine t
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) said Wednesday that it would provide "prior information" for 6,237 doctors likely to prescribe methylphenidate, a narcotic and psychotropic drug treating ADHD to encourage their proper prescription and use.The ministry will analyze the prescription informa
Korea is readjusting its approach to Covid-19. Commencing this Thursday, the country intends to classify the Covid-19 infection severity at its least severe, prompting a sequence of policy modifications that liken the management of the virus to that of influenza.In the past, the government covered t
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has finalized its budget for fiscal year 2024.It expanded budgets to establish a regionally integrated essential medical care system and secure global competitiveness in the bio and digital health industries.The ministry said its budget for FY 2024 won approval at
Among Seoul's 25 districts, also known as “gu” in Korea, three affluent neighborhoods—Gangnam-gu, Seocho-gu, and Songpa-gu—exhibited the lowest cancer mortality rate from 2019 to 2021, a report showed.Based on the findings of the "2022 Seoul Health Disparity Monitoring Report" published by the Seoul
