Gov’t to increase proportion of critical patients in tertiary hospitals to 70%

The government has decided to raise the proportion of critical patients in tertiary hospitals from the current 50% to 70%. Additionally, it plans to enhance compensation for approximately 3,000 low-fee medical treatments, which have been seriously underfunded, less than the costs they took. To address the medical service gap in underserved rural areas, the government will launch a pilot program for "contract-based essential doctors" in four provinces starting in 2024.

The Presidential Special Committee for Medical Reform announced the first medical reform implementation plan on Friday, which includes these measures. The committee's head emphasized that this is the last chance to stabilize the nation's medical services system amid the crisis of essential regional healthcare collapse. He stressed the government's commitment to systemic reforms to fundamentally address the challenges in medical care utilization.

Starting next month, the government will initiate a support project to restructure tertiary general hospitals. Participating hospitals must increase the proportion of severe-case patients to 70% or boost this ratio by more than 50% within three years. These hospitals will focus more on critical cases while reducing the number of general beds. Large hospitals in Seoul with over 1,500 beds must cut their total general bed count by 15%, those in the metropolitan area by 10%, and hospitals outside the metropolitan area by just 5%.

A discussion body will be established within 2024 to forecast, monitor, and adjust the supply of medical personnel, including medical school quotas. A source from the medical reform committee mentioned that the 2026 medical school quota could be discussed if the medical community joins the dialogue and presents reasonable alternatives. The Minister of Health and Welfare urged the medical community, which is currently not involved in the committee, to participate in the reform discussions and indicated that the medical community could hold bilateral consultations if requested.


박성민 기자 min@donga.com · 박경민 기자 mean@donga.com