By Yun Suh-young
A state agency pledged Monday to resolve medical disputes more quickly. The nine-member board at the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency (KMDMAA) plays a quasi-judicial role, with its mediation and arbitration legally binding. The agency is expected to more promptly conclude the protracted, expensive legal disputes between doctors and patients entangled in alleged cases of malpractice.
Patients who claim they are victims of medical malpractice are able to request the agency’s mediation, which will give a ruling within 90 days. The agency has been receiving cases since Sunday. The official launch ceremony is slated for April 16.
The system will also apply to medical malpractice suffered by foreign patients. In such cases involving foreigners, the KMDMAA has decided to appoint someone who has knowledge and experience in foreign law as a board member. The agency hopes the measure will encourage more foreign patients to trust the medical care here.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare has played an important role to create the KMDMAA to help settle medical disputes.
The annual number of medical disputes stood at 3,600 cases in 2010, over a two-fold increase since 2000 when 1,600 cases were reported, according to the KMDMAA.
“The actual number of disputes is far higher than what was reported to authorities. The cases increase every year,” said a KMDMAA official.
If there is a delay in the financial compensation, the KMDMAA will first pay the victim and later collect the amount from the doctor or the hospital. Also, if medical malpractice took place beyond the control of the doctor, the maximum compensation for the damages will be set at 30 million won, starting from April next year. The categories subject to this compensation are cerebral palsy from childbirth and the death of the baby or the mother while giving birth.
For more information or for a consultation, call 02-6210-0114 or visit www.k-medi.or.kr.