Uncover the deep crisis behind South Korea s healthcare reform and warn the global healthcare system

Mondo Health Updated on 2024-03-02

Recently, South Korea 1More than 50,000 medical students have been suspended en masse, accounting for 60% of all medical students! At the same time, South Korea has also experienced a large-scale "wave of doctor resignations", with more than 80% of resident doctors in many large hospitals submitting their resignations, which is plagued by a "doctor shortage". As a result, many patients are left in a state of "no medical treatment", emergency rooms are forced to close, and necessary surgeries are difficult.

What's going on here? Faced with the collapse of the medical system, South Korea has taken a tough stance and has announced the revocation of the doctor's license. So where does this fight ultimately go? Are there commonalities between Chinese and Korean societies? Let's dive in.

1. The deep-seated problems behind the doctor's resignation.

The trigger for this wave of doctors' resignations is South Korea's plan to continue to expand the enrollment of medical schools. But the real root cause is the structural problems that have accumulated in South Korea's healthcare system for a long time.

For example, there is a serious uneven distribution of hospital resources in South Korea. High-paying clinics and large hospitals are concentrated in Seoul, while hospitals in remote areas lack medical resources and specialists, and patients have to travel to and from hospital to hospital. For another example, there is a huge gap in the salary and benefits of doctors in different departments. Pediatrics and geriatrics are in the most difficult situation, and doctors are often busy until midnight despite the high intensity of their work, not to mention their personal rest time.

In fact, as early as 2020, during the epidemic, South Korean doctors went on a collective strike. At that time, they were also dealing with similar medical environmental problems. It's just that this time the scale is larger, the damage is more extensive, and it has even evolved into a collective suspension of medical students. This has undoubtedly brought the entire Korean medical system to the brink of collapse.

Second, the doctors' strike has severely damaged the lives of patients

The strike, which has affected hundreds of hospitals, has paralyzed South Korea's health care system. Due to the severe shortage of medical personnel, many hospitals have been forced to suspend normal operations, and the lives of a large number of patients have been seriously threatened.

For example, after the emergency department of many hospitals is closed, it is difficult for women to have prenatal check-ups and caesarean sections on time, so they can only wait in fear and anxiety. There are also patients who urgently need liver transplantation, and they have no choice but to accept the torture of being transferred to the hospital. What's more, patients who have been involved in car accidents and other accidents cannot find a hospital that can receive treatment, so they can only run around when rescue time is precious.

3. **Tough attitude to suppress doctors**.

Faced with the medical system on the verge of total collapse, South Korea has taken a tough attitude. ** Yoon Suk-yeol immediately rebuked the doctor for "not threatening people's lives" and said that he would never compromise. In order to curb the further deterioration of the situation, South Korea has also formulated a series of strict measures:

First, on-site surveys of 50 large hospitals are planned to ensure that the healthcare system is functioning properly. Secondly, for doctors who have not yet returned to work, their medical licenses will be revoked and they will be forced to leave their posts. In addition, medical students who participate in collective action are also threatened with suspension. In short, South Korea's attitude can be described as tough.

It remains to be seen, then, whether these draconian measures will work. But for now, at least, the resignation of doctors has not been deterred. The excessive pursuit of the number of expansion plans still angers grassroots doctors.

Fourth, the deep social contradictions reflected by the medical crisis in South Korea

When we take a longer view, we can see that the root cause of this medical crisis actually stems from the deep-seated problems in the social fabric of South Korea

First, South Korea has been facing a severe crisis of declining birthrate for a long time. According to the data, 17% of South Korea's population is over 65 years old, and this proportion is rising. In contrast, the fertility rate is only 081, well below the replacement level. Severe demographic imbalances have directly weakened the effective supply of South Korea's healthcare system.

Second, South Korea's educational environment is excessively involuted. Becoming a doctor represents a high social status, so parents let their children participate in various cram schools from the beginning of the baby, spending a lot of money on training. This makes medical resources even more scarce, and new doctors naturally feel threatened.

Third, the proportion of private hospitals in South Korea is as high as 95%. This means that most hospitals are operating profit-oriented. The change of leadership of the hospital also represents the replacement of different interest groups. In this environment, of course, the allocation of medical resources is becoming more and more distorted, and it is difficult to guarantee the rights and interests of grassroots doctors.

Because the problems in South Korea's healthcare system are so deep-rooted, it is even more difficult for the crisis to be completely resolved in a short period of time. Pessimistically speaking, the antagonism between doctors and patients will continue for quite some time.

Fifth, South Korea's medical crisis is a wake-up call for the world.

In fact, medical problems are never unique to one country. There have been many large-scale doctors** incidents in the United Kingdom and China. Similar to South Korea, they are also motivated to improve treatment and fight for rights.

Problems in South Korea's healthcare system, such as a severely aging population, are becoming common problems around the world.

Therefore, the crisis of South Korea's medical system is also a wake-up call for the whole world. It makes us re-examine what is the vocation and moral bottom line of a healer; It makes us reflect on the various deviations that may arise in the construction of the medical system; It also makes us realize that this is a problem that all mankind should face together.

The medical crisis that has swept South Korea reflects the country's deep-seated problems at multiple levels, such as demographics, allocation of educational resources, and hospital operation mechanisms. Together, they lead to a seemingly simple doctor-patient confrontation.

Therefore, in order to completely solve the current predicament, we must face up to the various social ills behind it. At the same time, South Korea's health care reform chaos is also warning the world that we need to be more cautious about the health care system, which affects the fate of hundreds of millions of people.

How do you think the health care reform turmoil in South Korea will end? What does it teach us about the rest of us? Welcome to leave a message in the comment area to discuss!

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