Controversy breeds after three doctors were sued for stopping a patient’s life-sustaining treatment. The person who sued the doctor is a “third party" not directly related to the decision on life-sustaining treatment -- the perpetrator who beat the patient to brain death.According to police in Masan
"We understand that there are concerns about the regulatory innovation promoted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS), but the purpose of the regulatory innovation is to make the fence surrounding safety stronger, not to break it. We will not stop with last year's regulatory innovation 1.0,
The Korea Coast Guard said Monday that it will crack down on the illegal cultivation and use of hemp and poppy until July 31, as the poppy blooming season and hemp harvesting season approaches.Among the narcotics regulated by Korean law, the poppy is classified as a natural narcotic because opium ca
Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) 's job-handling process will likely become faster than now.HIRA said Thursday that it would apply the Artificial Intelligence Optical Character Recognition (AI OCR) system from next month to enhance its administrative efficiency.AI OCR is a combi
As the government is planning to promote policies to boost local demand by attracting foreign tourists, it will also support medical tourism.Such a plan was included in the “Local Demand Boost Measures” announced by the Ministry of Economy and Finance at an emergency meeting on Wednesday.The plan is
The government is considering shortening the mandatory quarantine period for people with Covid-19 from seven days to five.The National Advisory Committee on Infectious Disease Crisis Response, which serves as an advisory body for major epidemic prevention policies, held a meeting on Monday to discus
Seven government agencies under the wing of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, including the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) and the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS), will join forces for the support of K-Health’s advance overseas.On Tuesday, the ministry held a ceremony
The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) recorded a current account surplus of nearly 3.63 trillion won ($2.79 billion) last year.According to the health insurance financial status by cash flow for 2022 unveiled by NHIS Tuesday, the health insurance fund increased by 3.6291 trillion won last yea
The government needs to establish a separate reimbursement registration frame for digital treatment devices that secure high-level clinical grounds from the approval stage, according to industry experts.They made these and other points at a workshop organized by the Korea Venture Business Associatio
Amid an expected downturn in Korea's export with the slowdown in the global economy, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration is looking to find avenues for exports by revitalizing the bio-health industry.At an emergency economic ministerial meeting, the Ministry of Health and Welfare jointly announced the
Tagrisso, AstraZeneca’s non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment, has earned increased insurance benefits as a primary treatment. The approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety came five years after the drug was approved as a primary treatment.On Wednesday, the Health Insurance Review an
As mRNA COVID-19 vaccine makers Pfizer and Moderna are considering price hikes, a local pharmaceutical association has argued that the government needs to continue to support local vaccine R&D in preparation for the implementation of annual immunization policy.According to the first issue of the "Gl
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) will establish the “National Standard Implementation Plan for Medical Devices in 2023” to lead international standards and help domestic medical equipment makers advance overseas.The main content of the implementation plan includes a push to win
Despite widespread expectations, the amendment bill to Medical Services Act aimed at allowing non-face-to-face treatment has failed to cross the threshold of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee’s subcommittee.Industry insiders attributed the failure to lawmakers’ doubts about deciding
A group of patients has called for expanding reimbursement standards for Tagrisso (osimertinib), AstraZeneca’s treatment for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), to help ease their financial burden.Tagrisso is registered as the secondary treatment for NSCLC, but the group urged the government to upgr
As the National Assembly discusses institutionalizing non-face-to-face treatment, doctor-turned-lawmaker Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) also proposed an amendment bill, increasing the possibility of its early introduction.The content of the revision bill to th
An international team of global health experts has recently published a report in the Lancet journal advocating for a common goods approach to address the shortcomings in the existing epidemic countermeasures which perpetuate inequities.The report, led by Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Ze
Korea will no longer require citizens to wear face masks on public transportation, including buses and trains, from Monday next week.Masks have been a part of everyday life for three years of the Covid-19 pandemic.The government mandate on masks came into effect on Oct. 13, 2020. Through the revisio
A data-based system incorporating digital technology was the strategy to cope with the increasing demand for elderly care services adopted by Japan, which has entered a superaged society.Based on this system, Japan provides quality care services and seeks to increase work efficiency at nursing homes
Some 13.79 million people in Korea received non-face-to-face treatment allowed temporarily to cope with the Covid-19 pandemic. Neighborhood clinics provided 86 percent of non-contact services, and 81.5 percent of people who used such services were returning patients.On Sunday, the Ministry of Health