The new coronavirus has made Korean people drink less alcohol but spend more time on online gaming and social media on smartphones, a survey showed. The survey, conducted by the Korean Addiction Forum (KAF), aimed to find how the Covid-19 outbreak affected the use of addictive drugs and behaviors.Celebrating its eighth anniversary, the KAF conducted the poll on 1,017 adults across the coun
People need to pay more attention to nutrition and physical activities to maintain a healthy life, especially in the Covid-19 pandemic, health experts said.Professor Lim Soo at the Internal Medicine Department of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Professor Lim Hyun-jung at the Department of Medical Nutrition of Kyung Hee University, and Professor Jean-Pierre Després at the Department
People paid most attention to Chong Kun Dang among the top 10 local pharmaceutical firms during the Covid-19 outbreak from February to May, industry data showed.The Global Bigdata Research, a private research institute, on Wednesday released a report that analyzed big data of the 10 drug companies on 12 communication channels, including media sites, online communities, blogs, internet cafes, Y
The Research Investment for Global Health Technology (RIGHT) Fund said it would add 18 billion won ($14.8 million) support for 17 domestic R&D projects, including Covid-19 vaccine development, infectious disease response, and digital health technology development.Established in Korea in July 2018, RIGHT Fund consists of funds jointly invested by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, LG Chem, SK
It has been four months since Alisha Song came to Korea as AstraZeneca Korea’s oncology marketing director. As a Korean-American, Song is tasked with strengthening the capabilities of the Korean branch’s oncology marketing managers through her role as a brand advisor.Song believes that with her help, the company will be able to redefine cancer treatments for patients in Korea and ultimately he
Incheon International Airport is at the frontline in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. Although the global spread of the virus pushed down new arrivals significantly, confirmed cases from overseas are still being reported. The nation’s main international airport has to remain vigilant as long as viral infections are ongoing worldwide. According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control
Immunotherapies Optivo, marketed by Ono Pharma Korea and BMS Korea, and Keytruda by MSD Korea, have recently failed to obtain reimbursement for expanded indication, as the government said such reimbursement would increase the national health insurance spending.Unhappy about the reimbursement failure, cancer patient groups held a rally to demand the drugmakers share the cost of expensive immuno
As COVID-19 spreads, virus pictures with the shape of sharp spikes have appeared. The public’s fears seem to intensify because of the virus pictures stuck in various photos. That’s an effect of medical arts. Medical arts seek to turn complicated and difficult medical knowledge and information into easy-to-understand visuals. The area expresses images not just for experts, such as medical book
A U.S. study recently analyzed how long the new coronavirus can survive in aerosols. However, local news reports amplified the result to raise the possibility of the deadly virus causing airborne infections, experts said.The U.S. National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and researchers o
DAEGU, South Korea – Prisons and detention centers are vulnerable to the risk of new coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreaks. When new confirmed cases surged in Daegu and North Gyeongbuk Province, correctional facilities reported several confirmed cases and medical workers who took care of them had to quarantine themselves. The healthcare void was filled by public health doctors urgently dispatched to Da
Myongji Hospital's Sports Medicine Center, operated by the hospital’s president, Professor Kim Jin-goo, is attracting attention from foreign doctors who want to receive the unique training that only Kim can provide.The center has been well known in Korea for offering comprehensive -- surgical and non-surgical -- treatment and one-on-one special exercise programs for professional athletes.
The government should come up with measures to better manage elderly patients with hepatitis B, said Yoon Goo-hyeon, head of Liver Korea, a group of patients with liver diseases.Hepatitis B has been the primary cause of acute hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma since the 1970s. However, the nation reduced the prevalence of hepatitis B significantly through imm
The news that Koh Won-jung, a professor of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Samsung Medical Center, took his own life saddened the medical community in the summer this year. People lamented that “the star of the Korean medical community has fallen.” Koh not only made great achievements but drew much anticipation for his future research outcomes. Physicians said it was ha
Stem cell therapy can stop cardiac muscle necrosis caused by myocardial infarction. Still, local patients cannot receive the treatment because the government has yet to list it as a new medical technology, a hospital said.According to Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH), a patient had sudden chest pain on Nov. 18 and was transferred from a primary hospital to a tertiary institution. The
Kim Dong-il, director of Dongguk University Ilsan Oriental Hospital, recently requested Medicine, a review journal, to publish his paper on using herbal medicine and acupuncture to treat infertility. However, a U.K. researcher refused to peer review Kim’s paper, calling it “ludicrous” on his social networking site. He said, “This is not science. This is not clinical research.”Jack Wilkinson, a
A Korean patient who developed rare cancer after receiving Allergan’s specific type of textured breast implant will sue the manufacturer and its management in the U.S., a law firm said.The female patient in her 40s received breast augmentation surgery seven years ago. She had severe swelling in one breast recently and visited a plastic surgery clinic. After she was moved to a university hospit
Korea has steadily improved the quality of acute treatment and care for outpatients, compared to other OECD members, but needs better management of long-term multidrug use by outpatients, an OECD report said.The Ministry of Health and Welfare released the OECD report on Korea’s healthcare quality and outcome as of 2017, as well as those of other member nations of the Organization for Economic
Amid ongoing controversy over cancer patients’ taking of dog the dewormer fenbendazole to treat the disease, an internal medicine specialist encouraged cancer patients to urge the government to conduct a clinical trial on fenbendazole.A man in a video on the YouTube channel, named “Dr. Ezra Hangjun Jang Internal Medicine” introduced himself as an American internal medicine specialist who earne
“Enacting a nursing law will renovate the healthcare system in Korea!”More than 50,000 nurses and nursing students shouted this and other slogans at a rally organized by the Korean Nurses Association (KNA) in the Gwanghwamun Plaza, downtown Seoul, Wednesday. They made demands concerning nursing policies and called for innovating the healthcare system. With the slogan, “Pushing f
Kim Hyo-jin is an oriental medicine practitioner sentenced to a jail term for operating “Anaki,” the Korean abbreviation of the now-defunct online community that advocated extremely naturalistic childcare and sold unauthorized herbal medicines. Recently, Kim opened a YouTube channel to show her consultations with patients, reviving the controversy. Kim was slammed for encouraging pa