In introducing the caregiving system to nursing hospitals, Korea should draw a plan to secure foreign care workers in addition to standardizing local nurses’ qualifications to make up for the caregiving workforce shortage, a local institute said.Eson Medical Management Institute made these and other
Early this year, the government said it would step up efforts to prevent contract sales organizations (CSOs) from serving as the counter for illegal rebates, obligating sales agencies to prepare expenditure reports.Last Friday, the Ministry of Health and Welfare went further, saying it would manage
The government started implementing a stricter testing rule for entrants to Korea on Monday as the Covid-19 resurged in the country.Health authorities said those entering Korea from abroad must undergo the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test on the day they arrive in principle. However, those forei
As the two major political parties completed the 21st National Assembly’s second-half formation, the parliamentary discussion of an amendment to the Medical Service Act seeking to allow non-face-face-treatment will likely gain momentum.Rep. Choi Hye-young of the main opposition Democratic Party of K
One out of three Covid-19 reinfection cases came from children and adolescents under 17, a government survey showed.According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDA) and Rep. Baek Jong-hean of the ruling People Power Party on Friday, 77,092 people tested positive for Covid-19 at le
The Korean Society of Heart Failure (KFHS) said it published the “2022 Complete Revision of Heart Failure Treatment Guidelines,” containing 10 important treatment changes.The newest guideline is the first completely revised heart failure treatment guideline in six years.“Heart failure is a disease t
Civic groups worldwide called on President Yoon Suk-yeol to increase Korea’s contribution to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.They said Korea's contribution was too small, given the size of the Korean economy and its large sales of medical devices to the Global Fund.Korean Ad
Researchers at a state-invested infectious disease research institute have found that Covid-19 pills and injections are effective against Omicron’s four subvariants, quarantine authorities said Thursday.At a Central Disease Control Headquarters meeting, Kwon Jun-wook, director of the National Instit
Biopharma experts said that the government should maintain or expand the accelerated review of approval for innovative medicines even after Covid-19 becomes endemic.On Thursday, they gathered at a special forum on the “2022 Cytiva Global Biopharma Resilience Index” at the Westin Chosun Hotel in cent
Novartis’ Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec), the world’s most expensive drug yet to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), will become reimbursable in August, the government said.The government set the maximum reimbursement price of the treatment at 2 billion won ($1.52 million), but the out-of-the
The government announced additional steps Wednesday to prepare for Covid-19 resurgence by, for instance, securing 4,000 hospital beds, based on the prediction that the daily infections could soar to 300,000 at its peak.The new measures came in addition to steps announced a week ago, as the resurge p
Korea reported the highest number of new Covid-19 cases in 83 days on Tuesday, as a highly contagious Omicron subvariant has effectively become the dominant strain amid eased virus curbs.The country added 73,582 new infections, including 351 from overseas, bringing the total to 18,861,593, the Korea
Changes in the economic and social status incurred by the Covid-19 pandemic raised the suicide risk in Korea, a government report showed.The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Foundation for Suicide Prevention released the results of psychological autopsy interviews on 952 people who lost
After the Yoon Suk-yeol administration decided to make Covid-19 patients shoulder part of their treatment costs, a civic group harshly criticized the government, claiming its “scientific quarantine” is the “neglect of state’s responsibility.”The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy stress
One in five students in elementary, middle, and high schools in Seoul were obese, and 30 percent of them were overweight in 2021, a government report showed.Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the Democratic Party released the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education’s report on student health examination data be
Next&Bio and Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST)’s European Research Institute have signed a joint research agreement to register guidelines for the “OECD adverse outcome pathway (AOP) verification act” to replace animal testing with organoids.Under the accord, the institute will regist
The government said Friday that it was not considering additional quarantine measures even after confirming the first case of BA.2.75, dubbed "Centaurus," the most contagious Omicron subvariant with greater immune-avoiding properties than BA.5.On Thursday, Korea confirmed the first BA.2.75 case from
On Thursday, quarantine officials detected the first case of BA.2.75, dubbed “Centarus,” the most contagious Omicron subvariant with greater immune-avoidance properties than BA.5.BA.2.75, first sequenced in India in May, has been found in about 10 countries, including the U.S., Australia, and German
The government has decided not to implement strict distancing rules, although new virus cases herald the advent of another Covid-19 wave.Instead, it will expand the targets of second booster shots to people in their 50s and those aged 18 and older with underlying conditions, quarantine officials sai
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) recommended expanding telemedicine in correctional facilities.Prisons need to hire more physicians to guarantee inmates’ access to healthcare, but if it is not feasible, they should instead broaden contactless medical services, the human rights w