Bill aims at starting medical dispute mediation without doctors' consent
By Kim Se-jeong
Controversy has arisen over a revision to a law that will allow for the initiation of arbitration on medical disputes solely upon a complainant's application, and without the agreement of accused doctors.
Members of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee passed a revision to the related law on mediation in disputes arising from medical malpractice.
The revision will allow mediation to begin once a medical malpractice complaint is submitted to the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, the nation's only body to mediate and arbitrate medical disputes.
Currently, the agency gives two weeks notice to the accused doctor after an application for mediation. But if the doctor doesn't answer or refuses to take part in the arbitration process, the case is automatically discarded.
Often called the "Shin Hae-chul law," the revision is named after a rock singer who died of medical malpractice in 2014.
Doctors have shown strong opposition to the new regulation.
"We expressed deep concern over the move," the Korean Medical Association (KMA) said in a statement. "This is an uninformed and unprofessional decision by politicians obsessed with public opinion and populism. We urge that the revision be rejected. If implemented, it will discourage doctors from performing active treatment on patients, and they will have to pay the price for it."
The KMA also said more social consensus was needed. "More medical experts should participate in the mediation process for objective medical decisions to be made," the group said.
Patients welcomed the move, however.
"It is nonsense that the mediation and arbitration process can begin only with consent from doctors. The current system robs victims and their families of the right to know the truth," said An Gi-jong, president of the Korea Alliance of Patients (KAP), a group representing victims of medical malpractice.
"The change is necessary to make medical services more reliable for patients," he said.
Out of 5,487 applications submitted to the agency since it was inaugurated in 2012, arbitration has been conducted on only 2,342, or 43.2 percent, according to KAP.
The revision still needs to be passed at the legislation and judiciary committee and a plenary session.
The singer Shin had an operation for intestinal adhesions and obstruction at Seoul Sky Hospital in October 2014, following an adjustable gastric band operation five years earlier. His surgeon accidentally perforated his small intestine, and he eventually died, according to police investigation.
Shin's family bypassed the arbitration agency and filed a lawsuit against the doctor, saying the surgeon would not consent to mediation. The lawsuit is still under way.
By Kim Se-jeong
Controversy has arisen over a revision to a law that will allow for the initiation of arbitration on medical disputes solely upon a complainant's application, and without the agreement of accused doctors.
Members of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee passed a revision to the related law on mediation in disputes arising from medical malpractice.
The revision will allow mediation to begin once a medical malpractice complaint is submitted to the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, the nation's only body to mediate and arbitrate medical disputes.
Currently, the agency gives two weeks notice to the accused doctor after an application for mediation. But if the doctor doesn't answer or refuses to take part in the arbitration process, the case is automatically discarded.
Often called the "Shin Hae-chul law," the revision is named after a rock singer who died of medical malpractice in 2014.
Doctors have shown strong opposition to the new regulation.
"We expressed deep concern over the move," the Korean Medical Association (KMA) said in a statement. "This is an uninformed and unprofessional decision by politicians obsessed with public opinion and populism. We urge that the revision be rejected. If implemented, it will discourage doctors from performing active treatment on patients, and they will have to pay the price for it."
The KMA also said more social consensus was needed. "More medical experts should participate in the mediation process for objective medical decisions to be made," the group said.
Patients welcomed the move, however.
"It is nonsense that the mediation and arbitration process can begin only with consent from doctors. The current system robs victims and their families of the right to know the truth," said An Gi-jong, president of the Korea Alliance of Patients (KAP), a group representing victims of medical malpractice.
"The change is necessary to make medical services more reliable for patients," he said.
Out of 5,487 applications submitted to the agency since it was inaugurated in 2012, arbitration has been conducted on only 2,342, or 43.2 percent, according to KAP.
The revision still needs to be passed at the legislation and judiciary committee and a plenary session.
The singer Shin had an operation for intestinal adhesions and obstruction at Seoul Sky Hospital in October 2014, following an adjustable gastric band operation five years earlier. His surgeon accidentally perforated his small intestine, and he eventually died, according to police investigation.
Shin's family bypassed the arbitration agency and filed a lawsuit against the doctor, saying the surgeon would not consent to mediation. The lawsuit is still under way.
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