This photo, taken July 30, 2021, shows ambulances at a COVID-19 treatment center in Suwon, 46 kilometers south of Seoul. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will establish a network of doctors in each region to ensure that individuals with cardio-cerebrovascular diseases receive proper medical treatment within the so-called “golden time” during emergency situations, officials said on Monday.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced that it will launch a regional doctors’ network initiative in January next year to aid emergency patients with cardio-cerebrovascular diseases in receiving timely treatment or surgery.
An emergency patient with cardiac infarction had only a 48 percent chance of arriving at an emergency medical institution within the golden time, while an emergency patient with a stroke had a 52 percent chance.
The government revealed that it will create a doctors’ network, enabling medical specialists in each region to directly communicate with each other and promptly designate a hospital where the emergency patient can receive medical treatment.
They aim to increase the arrival rate of cardiac infarction and stroke patients by 10 percentage points by 2027.
Each network will consist of a minimum of seven doctors from different hospitals within the patient’s reach in golden time, including a medical specialist for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases.
The government will cover all costs related to communication between doctors and establishing the course of patient transfer. Additionally, they will provide performance-based bonuses of up to 40 percent.
If a network is mismanaged or funding is misused for other purposes, it will be excluded from the project.
“Medical specialists for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases are already operating personal networks to deal with emergency patients. We are simply trying to support them through official institutions and policies,” said Park Min-soo, second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The government plans to add 10 more cardio-cerebrovascular disease centers by 2027 to the current 14 centers located in each region. They have also committed to establishing a response system in all regions.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
