District calls for mandatory reporting of serious incidents regardless of facility size, joint inspections and clearer safety standards for sedation procedures

A file image related to dental implants. (Not related to the article) [123rf]
A file image related to dental implants. (Not related to the article) [123rf]

Gangnam-gu said Saturday it had submitted a set of patient safety reform proposals to the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Assembly, following two deaths at a dental clinic in the district.

The proposals came after a patient died at a Gangnam-gu dental clinic on Dec. 30 last year while undergoing an implant procedure, and a second patient died at the same clinic on Aug. 3 this year in a similar incident — two deaths at the same facility within eight months. The district said the proposals center on requiring even small, clinic-level medical institutions to report deaths and other serious incidents promptly.

The four specific proposals call for: a reporting system for serious safety incidents — including deaths — that applies regardless of the number of hospital beds; a joint inspection framework involving the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, local governments and medical experts whenever a serious incident occurs; clear facility, equipment and application standards for high-risk procedures such as sedation anesthesia; and a preventive monitoring system that links medical accident risk data across relevant agencies.

To inform the proposals, the district held a patient safety reform consultation meeting on Sept. 11, attended by the Gangnam-gu Medical Association, the Gangnam-gu Dental Association, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the local public health center and police.

Participants said the current system requires mandatory reporting of patient safety incidents only at hospitals above a certain size, leaving health authorities unable to learn of serious incidents at smaller clinics — a regulatory gap. The absence of safety standards for sedation procedures performed at clinic-level facilities was also identified as an area requiring reform.

In addition, the district conducted a joint inspection with the Seoul Metropolitan Government from Sept. 14 to 16, covering 10 dental hospitals and clinics in the area. Inspectors checked for unlicensed medical practice, the posting of non-covered treatment fees and infection control, and strongly recommended that facilities performing sedation anesthesia equip themselves with emergency response equipment.

Gangnam-gu District Mayor Kim Hyun-ki said the district would strengthen on-site inspections given Gangnam's status as home to more than 3,000 medical institutions — the most of any district in the country — and would push for the four reform proposals to be adopted as soon as possible.


ken@heraldcorp.com