Gov't to tighten medical license system
By Chung Ah-young
The government said Friday that it will tighten the current medical licensing system following the infection of a large number of patients with hepatitis C at a Seoul hospital.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare will form a consultative team to improve the current system this month and announce the reforms in February next year.
A total of 78 among 2,268 patients who visited Dana Hyeondae Clinic in Seoul since 2008 have tested positive for hepatitis C due to the recycling of old syringes when they were given injections there, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
“We have confirmed the reuse of disposable syringes at the clinic since 2008 through the statements of hospital workers,” Yang Byung-guk, the KCDC director said.
Since the mass infection was caused by apparent medical malpractice, controversy has erupted over the effectiveness of the medical licensing system.
Under the current one, doctors keep their licenses only if they receive 24 hours of training by the Korean Medical Association and the Association of Korean Medicine every three years. Related laws only prohibit the mentally ill from becoming accredited medical personnel.
In the case of Dana, the doctor’s wife practiced medicine without a license on behalf of her husband who suffered brain damage following a car accident in 2012.
The doctor was unable to continue practicing due to a speech impediment and hand tremors.