Among general practitioners who have not won licenses as specialists, their preference for key treatment areas was similar to that of specialists, with dermatology being GPs’ favorite specialty in opening clinics.
General practitioners who do not qualify as specialists are not allowed to use their specialty in the name of their clinic. Instead, they must declare the subjects they practice at the medical institution they open, according to Article 24, Paragraph 1 of the enforcement rules of the Medical Service Act.
Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea said Monday that her analysis of data titled “Reporting status of medical departments of newly opened clinics” at the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service found that dermatology, internal medicine, and plastic surgery were the most frequently reported departments in the past five years.
From 2018 to 2022, 979 general practitioners opened new clinics and reported 3,857 medical specialties. The average number of medical specialties reported by a general practitioner was 3.9.
Dermatology was the most popular specialty among general practitioners. Exactly 843 GPs reported they treated dermatological problems in the last five years, accounting for 86.1 percent of the total 979 GPs newly opened in the same period. Dermatology also represented 21.9 percent of specialties reported by GPs.
Following dermatology's lead were internal medicine and plastic surgery, with 415 reports each, and family medicine, with 414 reports.
The number of GPs who reported practicing dermatology has steadily increased. In 2018, 154 GPs reported dermatology as a specialty, but the number rose to 159 in 2019 and 178 in 2020.
In 2021, when the Covid-19 pandemic reduced the number of new GP practices, the number of dermatology practices also declined to 159, but their share of the total increased to 23.9 percent. In 2022, the number of new GPs increased to 813, and the number of reports of dermatology practices rebounded to 193.
In contrast, the number of general practitioners treating children and adolescents decreased. The phenomenon of avoiding pediatrics was also seen in general practitioners. In 2018, 53 of the newly opened general clinics reported practicing pediatrics, but the number dropped to 36 in 2022. Pediatrics also recorded the steepest decrease in the number of specialties reported by newly opened general clinics over the past five years.
"There has been an increase in the number of general practitioners opening clinics centered on non-reimbursing specialties," Rep. Shin said. “The same distinct concentration, which is consistent with the criteria by which specialists choose their specialty to become a physician, is also seen among general practitioners.”
Shin pointed out that it results from the lack of government efforts to strengthen primary healthcare that can provide comprehensive and continuous care.
“Aside from adjusting the number of doctors, this is another reason why the government should also provide support to increasing the number of doctors who choose essential medicine," the lawmaker added.