A hospital in Seoul is seen in this file photo. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — The average amount of time taken for diagnosis of patients visiting hospitals and medical clinics was shorter than the amount of time spent waiting, a government report showed Sunday.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted a survey of 16,466 people over 15 years of age, 55.1 percent of whom said they visited a hospital or medical clinic between July 2021 and June 2022, up 1 percentage point from the previous year.
Without a reservation, patients waited for an average of 16 minutes to meet with a doctor, while diagnosis took 8.9 minutes on average.
At 69.9 percent, the majority of respondents were able to meet with a doctor on the same day they came to the hospital without making a prior reservation, while 29.3 percent made a reservation and met with the doctor on the day of their preference.
The 15-19 age group and 20-29 age group accounted for 31.6 percent and 30.2 percent, respectively, of all reserved appointments, preferring reservations more than other age groups.
Patients who failed to make reservations on the day of their preference waited 6.7 days on average.
Another 7 percent of hospitalized patients had to wait until an appointment with a doctor became available. They waited 14.7 days on average.
It is important to take into consideration, however, that the pandemic affected the supply of hospital beds between 2020 and 2022, the ministry said.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
