By Nam Hyun-woo
Eight out of 10 doctors canvassed by the Korean Medical Association (KMA) want to hold a strike to protest the government's plan to introduce telemedicine and allow hospitals to run for-profit subsidiaries, the organization said Monday.
The doctors lobby group said Sunday 21,300 members out of 25,000 who answered a survey said a strike should take place. Following a one day walk out last month, the government and KMA agreed on the terms of several key medical policies, which resulted in a threatened second strike being cancelled.
"We will organize a new emergency committee before April 15 to come up with action plans to protest the government's medical policies," a KMA official said.
Doctors opposing the government's plan held a strike March 10, though it caused no major disruptions.
After this, the government promised to run pilot projects before introducing telemedicine and reconstitute the health insurance reviewing committee.
The KMA dropped its plan for a six-day strike, expecting the pilot project would prove the inefficiency and risks of telemedicine.
However, the KMA claims that the government has broken the agreement and the organization "has no option but to continue with its protest."
The Ministry of Health and Welfare tabled a revised medical bill to a Cabinet meeting, March 26. But the revision contained no details on running pilot projects before implementation.
The ministry said it did not included the pre-legislation pilot projects into the revision because it had already promised they would begin in April and the National Assembly will naturally reflect the projects' outcome before implementing the revision.
Question still linger as to whether the KMA can protest the government's scheme in a uniform way.
On Sunday, representatives held a meeting and decided to exclude KMA President Roh Hwan-kyu from taking part in the new emergency committee.
During the meeting, they blamed Roh for the agreement, saying he did not stop the government's attempt to introduce telemedicine.
Roh initially tried to put holding the strike up for discussion, but failed because criticism against him mounted.
Some KMA members denounced Roh for agreeing with the government's "medical privatization scheme." They also criticized that his frequent statements on his Facebook account often fostered conflict within the group.
However, other KMA members still showed trust in Roh. Some 79 percent of those responding to the survey said Roh should lead the emergency committee.
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Roh Hwan-kyu |
The doctors lobby group said Sunday 21,300 members out of 25,000 who answered a survey said a strike should take place. Following a one day walk out last month, the government and KMA agreed on the terms of several key medical policies, which resulted in a threatened second strike being cancelled.
"We will organize a new emergency committee before April 15 to come up with action plans to protest the government's medical policies," a KMA official said.
Doctors opposing the government's plan held a strike March 10, though it caused no major disruptions.
After this, the government promised to run pilot projects before introducing telemedicine and reconstitute the health insurance reviewing committee.
The KMA dropped its plan for a six-day strike, expecting the pilot project would prove the inefficiency and risks of telemedicine.
However, the KMA claims that the government has broken the agreement and the organization "has no option but to continue with its protest."
The Ministry of Health and Welfare tabled a revised medical bill to a Cabinet meeting, March 26. But the revision contained no details on running pilot projects before implementation.
The ministry said it did not included the pre-legislation pilot projects into the revision because it had already promised they would begin in April and the National Assembly will naturally reflect the projects' outcome before implementing the revision.
Question still linger as to whether the KMA can protest the government's scheme in a uniform way.
On Sunday, representatives held a meeting and decided to exclude KMA President Roh Hwan-kyu from taking part in the new emergency committee.
During the meeting, they blamed Roh for the agreement, saying he did not stop the government's attempt to introduce telemedicine.
Roh initially tried to put holding the strike up for discussion, but failed because criticism against him mounted.
Some KMA members denounced Roh for agreeing with the government's "medical privatization scheme." They also criticized that his frequent statements on his Facebook account often fostered conflict within the group.
However, other KMA members still showed trust in Roh. Some 79 percent of those responding to the survey said Roh should lead the emergency committee.
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