Ministry of Health and Welfare holds the first council meeting... Discussion until November

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 11th that the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Institute held the first meeting of a consultative body to prepare for the implementation of the system, including the preparation of subordinate laws of the Medical Dispute Mediation Act.

The amendment to the Medical Dispute Mediation Act, which eases the criminal burden for high-risk essential medical services, passed the plenary session of the National Assembly in April.

Considering the public interest of high-risk essential medical services, the main purpose of the amendment is to significantly reduce the burden of criminal liability in the absence of gross negligence.

The consultative body was formed to collect on-site opinions from the medical community, patient and consumer groups, and experts regarding the revision of subordinate laws and system implementation of the Medical Dispute Settlement Act, which will be implemented in May next year.

From the medical community, the Korean Medical Association, Hospital Association, and Residents' Association, and from patient and consumer groups, the Congenital Heart Disease Patients Association, Consumer Public Interest Network, and the Severe Disease Association participated in the meeting.

The consultative body will continue discussions until November of this year, focusing on contents to be stipulated in subordinate laws, such as high-risk essential medical practices, gross negligence, and the content and method of explanation obligations.

Kwak Soon-heon, Director of Health and Medical Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "In the event of a medical accident, it is important to quickly and sufficiently recover damage based on communication between patients and medical staff and create an environment where medical staff can concentrate on treatment. We will prepare subordinate laws of the Medical Dispute Settlement Act after fully listening to opinions from all walks of life."