‘Doctors’ demand for raising medical fees aims at maintaining minimal workforce’

Doctors are demanding to raise medical fees not to increase their income but to create an environment where patients can be treated safely, a physician said.

Professor Ahn Yoon-hye of the Department of Internal Medicine at the Seoul National University Hospital Inpatient Medicine Center said Thursday on the official YouTube channel of the Seoul National University College of Medicine and Seoul National University Hospital Faculty Council's Emergency Preparedness Committee that medical staff should be able to treat critically ill patients with pride.

"It is a 'privilege' to work in an intensive care unit to help patients on the border between life and death," Professor Ahn said. "I don't think it is a privilege for everyone to be able to be there when patients are in need. It makes me feel proud and rewarded, so I chose to work in the ICU."

In reality, however, it is difficult for doctors to choose to work in the ICU, Ahn said, adding that it is difficult for junior doctors to follow the path of seniors who struggle with low pay when there is an easier path.

"If you need to make a living and there is an easier and more lucrative option, you will inevitably choose that path," Professor Ahn said. "Even those struggling with low pay get tired of it and leave searching for an easier path. When they see their seniors doing other things and those left are stuck at work, will they choose this job? I don't think so."

She stressed that asking for "higher fees" will not increase doctors' salaries, but normalizing the fees is necessary because hospitals cannot lose money when there are no fees or fees that are below cost, leading to a vicious cycle of not hiring people to care for critically ill patients.

According to Professor Ahn, at least 11 specialists must be on duty to maintain adequate working hours and maintain a 12-bed internal medicine ICU.

"For instance, there is a treatment called ‘prone positioning,’ which keeps patients prone. But we don't receive fees for it. Moreover, patients in the ICU are the most critically ill and need more specialists. However, out of hundreds of beds at Seoul National University Hospital, there are only 12 ICU beds in the internal medicine department," she said.

When doctors ask for higher fees, they're not asking for higher salaries, she said. They want 100 percent of the cost of treatment to be paid so that the hospital doesn't lose money. Only when hospitals don't lose money can they improve the bizarre staffing structure where specialists are assigned to care for ICU patients who need specialist attention, Ahn added.

"We have a group chat room that we created while running the emergency operational system, called 'ICU Team,'" she said. "ICUs should be run as a team. We hope to create a future where we can work as a team."