Maternity Clinic Market at Risk in Korea

According to the Research Institute for Healthcare Policy, 1,536 practices in all medical specialties have closed nationwide in 2013.(graphic:Kobizmedia/Korea Bizwire)

SEOUL, June 2 (Korea Bizwire) – As the number of maternity clinics closing down their practice is twice the number of newly opening ones, it has become more difficult to find obstetrician clinics in the neighborhoods.

According to the Research Institute for Healthcare Policy, 1,536 practices in all medical specialties have closed nationwide in 2013, which means that about 4.2 clinics were closed per day on average. The number of new practices was 1,831, slightly more than the number of closed practices but the closure ratio to new openings was 83.9 percent.

Among the closed practices, the closure rate of obstetricians was the highest at 223.3 percent. In other words, 2.3 obstetric clinics went out of business per each new clinic, a 50 percentage point increase over the previous year (173%). The closure rate of surgeons at 136.8 percent indicated that the number of surgeons gone out of business was greater than newly opened practices as well.

Clinics including neurosurgeons (95.2%), general practitioners (92.8%) and pediatricians (84.1%) also have recorded high closure rates. However, the closure rates of physicians (50.3%), rehabilitative doctors (52.6%), psychiatrists (56.3%) and family physicians (58.7%) were relatively low implying that about two new clinics opened their practices per each clinic closed down.

An RIHP researcher said, “The closure rate keeps on exceeding 80 percent despite 3,000 new doctors are produced every year and a significant number of them starts their own practices each year, which indicates that the medical service market is already saturated.” The researcher also has revealed RIHP statistics that 44.9 percent of current practices treat less than 50 patients each day on average. Considering the fact that about 40 to 50 patients a day are the “break-even point” for the clinics, about half of the practices are at risk.

He expressed a special concern about obstetrician clinics and said, “As indicated by the high closure rate, obstetricians are not at all to be found in 46 cities and counties all over the country.” He explained that main causes of the decrease in obstetricians are loss of uninsured income and increased malpractice lawsuits. It seems that the medical specialty of obstetrics is in danger of extinction in Korea.

Written by Robin Koo (linguistkoo@koreabizwire.com)

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