The Korean government said it would attract 700,000 foreign patients by 2027, a 180 percent boost from about 250,000 in 2022, to increase medical services exports.To do so, it will revise immigration procedures and expand the scope of services for foreign patients from cosmetics/plastic surgery to s
Global health experts emphasized the importance of derisking and incentivizing R&D for ensuring effective delivery and access to vaccines and diagnostics at the RIGHT Foundation's fifth-anniversary forum in Seoul on Friday.The anniversary was commemorated with the signing of a memorandum of understa
The cumulative number of mpox cases in Korea exceeded 100 on Monday, nearly one year after the country reported the first case in June last year. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the total number of confirmed patients with mpox, previously known as monkeypox, stoo
Screening for hepatitis C has been confirmed as more cost-effective than not conducting it.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDA) said Friday it would introduce a national health screening program for hepatitis C based on such findings. In addition, it released the result of a study
The Rare Disease Management Act, which includes “genetic counseling” in projects helped by rare disease support centers, has passed the plenary session of the National Assembly.After the passage, experts pointed out that efforts should follow to recognize genetic counseling as a medical practice. Th
The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which launches a pilot project for telemedicine Thursday with no set time frame, aims to institutionalize it within the 21st National Assembly’s term that has about a year left.Regarding why the pilot project fee was set at 130 percent of the existing fee, ministr
The National Assembly is actively considering a proposal to reclassify syphilis, a sexually transmitted disease, from its current classification as a Class 4 infectious disease to a Class 3 infectious disease. Additionally, they are discussing whether to obligate all medical institutions to report s
“We usually seek non-surgical interventions first and then consider surgery if needed but you should not only receive injections and painkillers for pain as further rehabilitation might be necessary,” said an expert highlighting the need for consults with orthopedic surgeons to prevent serious muscu
The overall number of deliveries in Korea has dropped by more than 180,000 in the past decade but the number of deliveries to mothers in their 40s has surged by more than 40 percent, a lawmaker’s data showed. Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the main opposition Democratic Party recently released data on baby
A bill that obligates checking a patient's medical narcotics history when prescribing psychotropic drugs has passed the National Assembly’s plenary session.The amendment to the Narcotic Drugs Control Act, which passed Assembly’s plenary session on Thursday, includes the imposition of a fine of less
The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) said on Thursday that the health insurance treatment data of breast cancer patients recorded a 30.5 percent increase from 2017 to 2021.The cases rose from 206,308 in 2017 to 269,313 in 2021. The average annual growth rate is estimated at 6.9 percent.Accor
“Don’t let the domestic industry get stuck in a regulatory rut and lag in competitiveness.”On Wednesday, such calls poured out from the industry’s representatives at a public debate organized by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) to innovate its regulatory systems.Participants from the indu
The government's upcoming launch of a telemedicine pilot program next month has sparked intense criticism from various stakeholders, including the medical community, civic groups, and industry associations, for all different reasons.On May 17, the government released the direction for the pilot proj
The government should use the national pension fund to strengthen public healthcare, union leaders said Wednesday.Such an argument was made at a debate co-organized by Rep. Koh Young-in of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea, the Korean Health and Medical Workers Union (KHMU), the Korean Public
The digital health industry, which develops digital therapeutics (DTx), software as medical devices (SaMDs), and wearable devices, has called for the regulator to introduce decentralized clinical trials (DCTs).However, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) recently took a cautious position.Cha
The number of mpox cases in Korea increased by six from last Tuesday to Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 81.Except for five cases, the 76 cases have been confirmed since April 4, with Korea confirming 34 cases in May alone.Even though the World Health Organization (WHO) lifted
The number of all crimes committed by doctors has decreased from 2017 to 2021, but the number of violent felonies has increased, according to a lawmaker’s report.Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) released the report after analyzing the current status of crimes co
President Yoon Suk Yeol has officially declared that the Covid-19 pandemic is over. There will be no mandatory isolation for Covid-19 patients, no PCR tests for people entering Korea, and no obligatory mask wearing in hospitals and pharmacies. Chairing over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermea
The Korean government will likely declare the actual end of the Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday.According to the government on Wednesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol will personally preside over the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Thursday and issue a message to the public.As t
Domestic pharmaceutical companies have made policy recommendations to speed up the development of incrementally modified drugs (IMDs) to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.Kim Jin-ah, a managing director who leads Boryung’s development strategy office, explained the development process of Dukarb P