"We expect to break the vicious cycle of patient refusals caused by absent backup specialists and secure critical golden-time response"

Rep. So Byeong-hun of the Democratic Party of Korea [provided by the lawmaker's office]
Rep. So Byeong-hun of the Democratic Party of Korea [provided by the lawmaker's office]

Rep. So Byeong-hun of the Democratic Party of Korea, who represents Gwangju-gap in Gyeonggi Province, announced Tuesday that he has introduced a bill to amend the Emergency Medical Service Act that would require regional emergency medical centers to station specialists in internal medicine, surgery, neurology and neurosurgery as dedicated emergency room staff during weekday daytime hours.

Under current law, regional emergency medical centers must have emergency medicine specialists and pediatric emergency specialists on staff. Other dedicated ER specialists, however, are assigned on a discretionary basis — drawn from departments including emergency medicine, internal medicine, surgery and orthopedics — in proportion to the number of patients visiting the emergency room.

As a result, specialists in internal medicine, surgery, neurology and neurosurgery — the core disciplines for emergency patients — are not always present in emergency rooms. Critics have long argued that the problem is particularly acute during weekday daytime hours, when outpatient consultations and scheduled surgeries make immediate consultations and backup care difficult, disrupting the admission of emergency patients.

In practice, cases in which emergency medical institutions have been unable to accept patients have surged over the past three years. Of 41,904 total refusal notifications recorded in that period, nearly half — 20,166 — were attributed to insufficient medical staffing.

The bill would require regional emergency medical centers to include at least one specialist each in internal medicine, surgery, neurology and neurosurgery when assembling their dedicated ER staff during weekday daytime hours. The measure is also expected to enable faster differential diagnosis and treatment for critically ill emergency patients, strengthen coordination between emergency medicine and backup departments, and boost overall ER capacity. In addition, it is expected to support faster clinical decision-making based on patient condition and help build inter-hospital consultation networks.

"I hope this amendment will help protect the golden time for emergency patients," So said. "I will do my utmost to improve the system so that every citizen can receive appropriate emergency medical service anytime and anywhere."


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