46 pct of Doctors Over 65 are Not Engaged in Medical Practice

A doctor checks a patient at a senior center in Jeongseon County in Gangwon Province. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) — About half of the medical specialists over 65 years of age are not engaged in medical practice, data showed Sunday.

The number of medical doctors over 65 stood at 17,245 as of January, and of the total, 9,273 or 53.8 percent were working at medical institutions, according to data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The remaining 7,972 or 46.2 percent were not identified to be working at medical institutions despite holding medical licenses, indicating that they were not engaged in medical practice.

The ratio of non-active medical specialists stood at 48.5 percent for internal medicine doctors, 42 percent for surgeons, and 53.9 percent for medical assistants.

By specialty, the non-active ratio of family medicine doctors and pediatricians was higher than 50 percent.

The ratios for essential areas such as gynecology, thoracic surgery, neuropsychiatry, and general surgery also stood at more than 40 percent.

With the onset of a rapidly aging population, voices are growing for the need to find a way for retired senior doctors to contribute to addressing regional medical imbalances.

M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)