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CEO & Publisher: Oh Young-jinDigital News Email: webmaster@koreatimes.co.krTel: 02-724-2114Online newspaper registration No: 서울,아52844Date of registration: 2020.02.05Masthead: The Korea TimesCopyright © koreatimes.co.kr. All rights reserved.

Korea wary of opioid abuse among teens, its deadly consequences

Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon, center, chairman of the ruling People Power Party, speaks during a meeting with dug experts to curtail juvenile drug crimes at the Center for Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration run by Korea Association Against Drug Use in western Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap Senior citizens and teens responsible for most opioid-related crimes in Korea This is the second in a two-part series about controlled substance overdoes and its fatal consequences on public health―ED. By Kang Hyun-kyungThe 2022 Crime White Paper released in April by the Institute of Justice, a research arm of the Ministry of Justice, sheds light on the unique nature of drug crimes in Korea. In 2021, 16,153 people were arrested in Korea for drug crimes and those who were caught for possessing, using, selling or distributing psychostimulants accounted for the lion's share at 10,631, followed by abusers of cannabis (3,777) and opioids (1,745).In Korea, drugs are classified into three categorie

May 19, 2023By Kang Hyun-kyung
Korea wary of opioid abuse among teens, its deadly consequences

New gov't guidelines for telemedicine face criticism

Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong, right, speaks during a policy consultation meeting between the government and the ruling People Power Party at the National Assembly to discuss telemedicine services, Wednesday. At left is PPP chief policymaker Rep. Park Dae-chul. Yonhap Use of 1st time patients, drug delivery to be removed from pilot programBy Jun Ji-hyeFewer people are likely to receive non-face-to-face medical services, or telemedicine, starting next month. The government made the decision to narrow the telemedicine services currently available, Wednesday, allowing mainly second-visit or regular patients to benefit from its trial program. The Telemedical Industry Council under the Korea Startup Forum claimed the decision does not reflect the usage trend of telemedicine, citing its survey showing that 99 percent of patients using telemedicine services were first-time patients. The trial program will not allow drug delivery, either, inviting criticism that the government removed one of the biggest benefits of telemedicine.Telemedicine services, which are illegal under the current Medi

May 18, 2023By Jun Ji-hye
New gov't guidelines for telemedicine face criticism

People in 50s most likely to die alone: gov't study

Lee Ki-il, the first vice minister of health and welfare, announces the ministry's masterplan to prevent people from dying along at Seoul Government Complex, Thursday. YonhapBy Ko Dong-hwanDefying an assumption in Korea that elderly people are at higher risk of dying alone, a recent government survey showed the age group harboring the highest risk might be those in their 50s.The finding was announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on Thursday alongside a set of preventive measures to stop “lonely deaths” in the country. Based on the survey result conducted last November to December, the ministry concluded that there might be over 1.52 million people nationwide at a comparatively higher risk of dying alone. That is 3 percent of the country's entire population and 21.3 percent of the total single-person households in Korea. The ministry said Thursday that whereas people in their 70s or older showed the highest chances of fatality, those in their 50s topped the risk of dying alone with almost 34 percent. They were followed by those in their 60s with 30.2 percent and t

May 18, 2023By Ko Dong-hwan
People in 50s most likely to die alone: gov't study
  • Cleaning up after 'godoksa,' lonely deaths in Korea

Korea to launch telemedicine pilot program next month

gettyimagesbankKorea seeks to launch a telemedicine pilot program mainly for second-visit patients starting next month, as well as for those who cannot visit clinics due to physical illness or infectious disease, the health ministry said Wednesday.The country's telemedicine services have been temporarily allowed since 2020 through April this year amid the coronavirus pandemic.A total of 1,419 patients have received telemedicine services during the cited period, according to the ministry.Under the pilot program, those patients who visit clinics at least once within a year can use the telemedicine services.But those who suffer from infectious diseases or reside on remote islands, and senior citizens who cannot visit medical institutes and the physically handicapped can also use the contactless services, according to the ministry.Korea's telemedicine services are designed to provide quality health care to people who live in hard-to-reach areas, such as deep-sea fishermen and residents of remote islands, by connecting patients to doctors using the internet in one of the world's most wire

May 17, 2023
Korea to launch telemedicine pilot program next month

US doctor gives lectures on VNS therapy for epilepsy in Korea

James Wheless, professor and chief of the Department of Pediatric Neurology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, gives a lecture at Seoul National University Hospital, May 9. Courtesy of Dongsan HearingBy Jun Ji-hyeJames Wheless, professor and chief of the Department of Pediatric Neurology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, gave lectures earlier this month at Korean hospitals on vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), a technique for treating people with epilepsy.Dongsan Hearing, Korea's sole VNS provider, said Wednesday that Wheless, a recognized authority on seizure disorders and epilepsy in children and adolescents, visited Seoul National University Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, Severance Hospital and Gachon University Gil Medical Center to give his lectures from May 8 to 10. Wheless, who also chairs the Division of Pediatric Neurology at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, visited Korea for the first time at the invitation of Dongsan Hearing and LivaNova, a global medical device company.During his lectures, Wheless shared his knowledge and knowhow with

May 16, 2023By Jun Ji-hye
US doctor gives lectures on VNS therapy for epilepsy in Korea

About 251 cow farms under quarantine against FMD

Quarantine officials in protective suits enter a beef cattle farm in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, central South Korea, on May 11, 2023, to cull cattle after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) was confirmed there and at two other beef cattle farms in the region. They were the first confirmed FMD cases in the country in more than four years. Yonhap More than 250 cow farms in a local city where the first cases of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) had broken out in South Korea are subject to government-led quarantine inspections to prevent the further spread of the contagious animal disease, a government official said Monday.Last week, South Korea reported FMD infections at two beef cattle farms both located in the central city of Cheongju, 112 kilometers south of Seoul, for the first time in four years. The country last reported FDM cases in January 2019.Since then, three more confirmed cases were reported at farms in Cheongju."The five farms have 14 cars

May 15, 2023
About 251 cow farms under quarantine against FMD

Korea announces end to COVID-19 health emergency

Tourists pass by a COVID-19 testing center at Incheon International Airport, Thursday. Korea announced a decision to end almost all COVID-19 restrictions beginning June 1. YonhapGovernment to drop seven-day mandatory quarantine from JuneBy Jun Ji-hyeKorea announced it will stop classifying COVID-19 as a health crisis, lifting almost all pandemic-related restrictions next month, including mandatory isolation, and treat the disease as an endemic.Placing the contagious disease in the endemic category means its presence has become more predictable and manageable much like seasonal influenza.President Yoon Suk Yeol announced Thursday that the government will downgrade the classification of COVID-19 to “alert” from “serious,” beginning June 1. Korea has a four-tier system to cope with infectious diseases ― attention, caution, alert and serious ― and COVID-19 has been classified at the top level since February 2020.“The seven-day mandatory isolation period for COVID-19 patients will be changed to a recommendation of a five-day isolation,” Yoon said during

May 11, 2023By Jun Ji-hye
Korea announces end to COVID-19 health emergency

Korea reports 16 new mpox infections in 1st week of May

This June 23, 2022 file photo shows a notice on mpox at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. Korea Times photo by Bae Woo-hanKorea confirmed 16 new cases of mpox for the first week of May, bringing the country's total to 60, health authorities said Monday.Eleven of them are from Seoul, while two are from Gyeonggi Province, and three are from Incheon, Busan and Gwangju, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.Out of the 16 patients, 14 are Korean nationals and two are foreigners, and none of them traveled abroad in the past three weeks, it added.Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is traditionally confined to regions in Central and West Africa, and can cause fever, chills, rashes and lesions, among other symptoms.Korea reported the first case of mpox on June 22 last year and four more cases through March. The first five cases were linked to overseas travel.But most of the recent infections that began April 7 were believed to be locally transmitted, with no overseas travel history. (Yonhap)

May 8, 2023
Korea reports 16 new mpox infections in 1st week of May

Korea to lower national crisis level for COVID-19 soon

A woman arriving from China enters a COVID-19 testing center at the Incheon International Airport, Jan. 5. AP-YonhapThe government plans to "swiftly" lower its national crisis level for COVID-19, the head of the country's public health agency said Saturday, after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared an end to the virus as a global health emergency earlier this week.The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) Commissioner Jee Young-mee made the announcement in a release, following the WHO's move Friday to end the public health emergency of international concern that had been in place since January 2020."By considering the WHO Emergency Committee results, the trend of the virus spread at home and abroad, domestic antivirus measures, medical response capabilities, policies of major countries, and others, we will swiftly confirm the downgrade plan for the COVID-19 emergency level through an emergency assessment meeting with experts," Jee said.In March, Korea unveiled a road map to eventually redefine COVID-19 as endemic and ease the remaining virus restrictions after t

May 6, 2023
Korea to lower national crisis level for COVID-19 soon
  • WHO says COVID emergency is over. So what does that mean?

Should doctors charge more for telemedicine services?

gettyimagesbank By Jun Ji-hyeWhile the government is pushing to launch trial telemedicine services connecting doctors with patients through the use of information and telecommunications technology, attention is growing on how medical fees for related services will be decided.The medical fees refer to the sum of the costs covered by patients and the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS).Korea has adopted medical services on a fee-for-service basis since the country introduced the medical insurance system.Opinions have been divided over whether doctors should receive more medical fees for offering telemedicine services. Supporters of higher fees say the services require more effort and work on behalf of doctors and other medical workers. But opponents say the services do not require spaces for consultation, so fees should be lower compared to general practice. Non-face-to-face medical services, known as telemedicine, were allowed temporarily in Korea starting in Fe

May 5, 2023By Jun Ji-hye
Should doctors charge more for telemedicine services?
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