The government plans to allow "domestic advertisements to attract foreign patients," prohibited under the Medical Service Act, in medical tourism special zones.The plan is part of the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s “Economic Policy Direction for 2024,” announced Thursday.The ministry said it woul
AstraZeneca Korea said Tuesday that its rare disease treatment, Koselugo (selumetinib), will be covered by health insurance for the treatment of pediatric patients aged 3 to 18 years with neurofibromatosis type 1 with plexiform neurofibroma (PN) starting January 1, 2024. Continuation of Koselugo rei
Starting this year, syphilis will move from a Level 4 infectious disease subject to sample surveillance to a Level 3 disease subject to full surveillance.On the other hand, mpox, a Level 2 infectious disease, will be converted to a Level 3 infectious disease and managed under the general healthcare
In the third quarter of this year, 1.04 million people were working in the healthcare industry. That marked an increase of 3.7 percent, or 37,000, from a year ago.According to the Health Industry Employment Trends for the third quarter released by the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHI
In the final month of 2023, non-face-to-face treatment has returned to the center of controversy. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the revision of the non-contact medical treatment pilot project in early December. It has expanded the scope of telemedicine to include new patients, nightti
In response to the government's “Mental Health Policy Innovation Plan,” the National Assembly has urged it to proceed after analyzing the sustainability of policy implementation.Regarding the proposed introduction of the “judicial hospitalization system,” which draws keen public attention, the Assem
The year 2023 marked significant transformations in the medical and pharmaceutical sectors. Despite facing resistance from the medical community, President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration declared its intention to increase the number of medical school seats starting in 2025. Additionally, 2023 witnes
The government’s “integrated diagnostic support project for rare diseases,” expanded in 2023, has tripled the number of its beneficiaries compared to 2022 while nearly halving their diagnosis time.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDA) announced the project's results on Thursday.The
The number of cancer patients in Korea increased again in 2021 as the number of cancer screenings, which had decreased due to Covid-19, increased again and the scope of registration expanded.It was also found that six out of 10 cancer patients were those who survived for more than five years.The Min
The Association of Korean Medicine has called for the correct use of the name of traditional medicine practitioners.The association expressed concern that some media outlets may convey incorrect information by mistakenly calling Chinese medicine doctors or acupuncturists Korean medicine doctors.It i
The government said it would reduce health insurance coverage for lower abdominal and urinary ultrasound exams, beginning next year. This initiative is aimed at curbing overtesting and preventing the misallocation of health insurance funds. Earlier this year, the government reduced benefits for uppe
The government has set a goal of creating two global blockbuster innovative drugs with annual sales of more than 1 trillion won ($768 million) by innovating the biohealth industry and doubling exports in the biohealth sector.To this end, it also will train 3 percent of medical school graduates as ph
The Ministry of Health and Welfare's budget for 2024 has been fixed at about 122.37 trillion won ($94.06 billion), up 12.1 percent from this year. The budget for strengthening essential medical care increased by 57 billion won during the National Assembly deliberations.The ministry said Thursday tha
On Monday, Korea initiated the administration of Novavax's updated Covid-19 vaccine to prevent infection from the XBB.1.5 subvariant, marking the first instance of its use in Asia.Novavax’s updated Covid-19 vaccine (NVX-CoV2601), the only non-messenger RNA formulation to target the XBB.1.5 subvarian
Following the initial pilot project for herb medicine reimbursement, a mere 33.2 percent of participating organizations prescribed the medicine, leading to a financial execution rate of only 3.9 percent.However, according to health officials, the government will push ahead with the second pilot proj
Despite the decline in the pediatric population, the number of "pediatric chronic multiple diseases" and the cost of treatment has increased, providing another reason for maintaining the pediatric specialty care system, a report said.The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) said so
The increasing use of mobile apps to make medical clinic appointments is polarizing access to healthcare in Korea. On the morning of December 9, a pediatric clinic in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, found itself filled with children and their parents eagerly waiting to see a doctor.The majority had previ
Up to one in every five Koreans has been diagnosed with hypertension and 9 percent with diabetes, with 90 of them receiving treatment.On the other hand, the rate of recognizing early symptoms of stroke was low, remaining in the 60 percent range, and that of recognizing early symptoms of myocardial i