• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.69-118
• /
• 2007

In providing general medical treatments, the medical service contract between the patient and the doctor is the mutually responsible onerous contract. However, the nature of the mutually assumed contract standings of the patient and the doctor has been changing since the implementation of the national health insurance program. For instance, besides the cases of beyond excessive medical charges and medical negligence, if the doctor charged for his/her medical treatments violating the post-treatment/nursing cover criteria, the overpaid medical charge, regardless of being collected with the patient's consent, has to be refunded back to the patient. Medically needed aspects, treatment results, and unfair benefits favoring the patient are not at all taken into consideration in the health insurance scheme. This makes it easier for patients to get refunds for their share of the medical payments by involving the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service or the National Health Insurance Corporation, without engaging in civil law suits (for reimbursement claim) against doctors. In other words, the doctor's responsibility to provide medical treatments and the patient's responsibility to pay for the medical treatment provided within the contractual realm are being demolished by the administrational arbitration of the National Health Insurance system. The basic rights of medical service providers, and the patient's right to choose are as important constitutional rights, as the National Health Insurance program, which is essential in the social welfare system. Furthermore, the development of the medical fields should not be prevented by the National Health Insurance system. If the medical treatment services can be divided into necessary treatments, general treatments, and high quality treatments, the National Health Insurance is supposed to guarantee the necessary and general treatments to provide medical treatments equally to all the insured with limited financial resources. However, for the high quality treatments, it is recommended that they should not be interfered by the National Health Insurance system, and that they should be left to the private contract between the patient and the doctor.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.40 no.6
• /
• pp.1152-1168
• /
• 2019

Objectives: The aim of this study was to present several proposals for future pulse diagnosis practice and research by investigating the trend of pulse diagnosis studies in Korea. Methods: We searched online medical databases, including National Discovery for Science Leaders (NDSL), the Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS), the Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), and the Korean Traditional Knowledge Portal (KTKP), for pulse diagnosis articles in Korea. We selected articles on pulse diagnosis but excluded duplicate articles, articles irrelevant to pulse diagnosis, and articles published in foreign countries. Results: In the first screening, 801 articles were selected. We found 251 articles and classified them according to category. The medical engineering field had 148 articles. A total of 24 articles were related to algorithms for pulse wave detection, 34 to sensors, five to pressurization technology, 16 to systems, 11 to remote medical service, five to mobiles, nine to trends, and 44 to basic research. The Korean medicine field had 103 articles. A total of 41 articles were devoted to literature reviews, 20 to case reports, 11 to constitutional medicine, six to experimental studies, and 25 to relevant research. Conclusion: More efforts to practice pulse diagnosis for various diseases should be made and the results actively published.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.147-156
• /
• 2018

PURPOSE: The law pertaining to medical service technologists does not discuss the scope and limits of doctors' guidelines. My paper aims to discuss these topics. METHODS: This study was based on a review of literature and an analysis of judicial precedents. RESULTS: Physical therapists have often noted the need for independent practitioners in their articles on health care. Their continued discussions on professional and educational differences have centered round this issue, but their ideas have not been accepted. Practitioners have continued to interpret doctors' guidelines in hospitals without discussing their scope. However, the Supreme Court presented a meaningful decision outlining the conceptual limits and the scope of medical practice. The court suggested, basing its interpretation in the goal of clarifying the concept of medical activities smoothly, was to follow a specific judgment on the levels of education, testing, and professionalism. CONCLUSION: The role of physical therapists is expanding in this country, in order to meet the needs of the ultra-aged society. Education is already responding to rising training needs. By dividing the doctors' guidelines into indirect and direct types, if there's no medical risk near or around the health center or hospital, it is a good idea to allow the management of physical therapy partially, while understanding the scope and limitations of these guidelines clearly. A teleological interpretation of the law is especially relevant, and can be implemented immediately by the authoritative interpretation on part of the health authorities without any legal amendments.

• Journal of Korean Medical classics
• /
• v.24 no.2
• /
• pp.161-181
• /
• 2011

In spite of the development of scientific and medical technology, the rate of prevalence and death of the chronic disease gets higher. Therefore people come to know prevention is more important than treatment in disease. In Western, it is nearly after 1970's when it is revealed that the major factor of chronic disease comes from habitual behaviors in everyday life. But that is common idea in Oriental Medicine since thousand years. In Oriental Medicine, the main cause of disease is composed of natural factor including climate condition, living-life factor, psycho-social factor, constitutional factor, inbody-pathologic-substance factor, and other factors including habits of using drug and medical service, injury, environmental pollutions, and occupational etiologic factors. Among these, the major factors of disease in modern society are lifestyle factors like the tendency of choosing and intaking food, the level of physical activity and labor, smoking and drinking alcohol, psychological tendency, the habits of using drug and medical service and so on. This is a practical aspect of oriental medicine where the most important etiologic factor comes from human behaviors, not from external factors like germ or virus. So that etiology in Oriental Medicine where improvement in the way of life is needed to prevent disease would play an important role in modern society.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.3-33
• /
• 2020

Telemedicine can be defined as "medical activities performed remotely by medical personnel using information and communication technology." So far, many scholars in Korea have understood that only telemedicine between medical personnel is allowed and telemedicine between medical personnel and patients is prohibited based on Article 34 of Medical Service Act. However, Article 34 is only a restriction on the performing place of medical profession, not a prohibition on telemedicine itself. And, there are no regulations prohibiting telemedicine under the korean medical law. So, it is difficult to say that telemedicine is generally prohibited under the korean medical law, apart from the health insurance medical treatment benefit standards. However, there is controversy in interpretation regarding the meaning of "direct diagnosis" in Articles 17 and 17-2 of Medical Service Act. The Constitutional Court of Korea interpreted this as "face-to-face diagnosis", while the Supreme Court of Korea interpreted it as "self diagnosis". In light of the dictionary meaning of 'direct' and the interpretation of related medical law regulations, I think the Supreme Court's interpretation is valid. Although "direct diagnosis" does not mean "face-to-face diagnosis", the concept of "diagnosis" implies "principle of face-to-face diagnosis". In addition, "non-face-to-face diagnosis" are only allowed to supplement "face-to-face diagnosis", so the problems caused by "non-face-to-face diagnosis" can be fully overcome. In the end, the limit of telemedicine is how faithful the diagnosis was.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.15-26
• /
• 2019

Background and Aim : Health care and cosmetics as well as quality of life is now a matter of concern and many categories of complementary and alternative medicine fall into the territory of the medical practice of Korean medicine. Accordingly, penalties are being taken for unlicensed medical practices of Korean medicine in so called complementary and alternative medicine area. There is a possibility of violating the law for the public part because it is not clearly stipulated in the law as to what is a licensed medical practice. Materials and Method : The significance of the Medical Service Act and the Act on Special Measures for the Control of Public Health Crimes were reviewed, and the related supreme court cases were discussed upon the legal aspect of processing the unlicensed medical practice of Korean medicine. The legal information was provided from the National Law Information Center of the Ministry of Government Legislation, and the information websites of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court. Results : The concept of medical practice, which is essential in judging the case of unlicensed medical practice, is 'prevention and treatment of diseases through diagnosis, examination, prescribing, medication, or surgical procedures based on medical expertise', and the 'acts that may result in harm and injury of health unless performed by a medical person'. With respect to the medical practice of Korean medicine, the concept includes 'prevention and treatment of diseases using the principle of traditional Korean Medicine'. Conclusions : The concept of medical practice should be clearly stipulated in the law for the control over the unlicensed medical practices of Korean medicine. And it is important to move from the current concept of medical person-oriented medical practice emerging from the national system of healthcare control, to a concept that can accept the era of health managing-oriented medical environment and the co-governance of the healthcare providers and consumers for the future.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
• /
• v.32 no.2
• /
• pp.126-133
• /
• 2018

The aim of this survey is to investigate the current state of pattern identification, treatment and management on chronic fatigue in the Korean medicine. From May 25, 2017 to June 7, we distributed contents of questionnaires to 17,992 Korean medical doctors via e-mail, and then received answers from 329 people. The surveys were conducted by a specialized research organizations. Researchers were blinded to the participant's personally identifiable information or whether they participated in the investigation. In Korea, almost Korean medicine doctors (94.5%) used pattern identification in the treatment of chronic fatigue patients. The main diagnostic methods were visceral (38.5%), qi-blood-fluid-humor (32.3%), and sasang constitutional pattern identification (14.3%). The high-frequent therapy were herbal medicine (37.0%), acupuncture (27.9%), moxibustion (11.7%), and cupping (8.6%). The primary goals of treatment were Improvement and relaxation of stress condition (18.1%), improvement of quality of life (13.1%), increase of functional vitality (34.0%), and fatigue management (23.3%). The key factors affecting treatment outcomes were the patient's aggressiveness in treatment (23.5%) and his/her lifestyle and environment(22.7%). This study was a pioneering research for chronic fatigue on the aspect of medical service provider in the Korean medicine. We hope that this study can be used as a basis for developing a more appropriate and reasonable practice guidelines for chronic fatigue.

• Journal of Korean Medicine for Obesity Research
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.63-71
• /
• 2014

Objectives: This study was designed to investigate the correlation between Sasang constitution and dyslipidemia and the possibility that Sasang constitution can be a risk factor of dyslipidemia. Methods: This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study based on chart review. Seventeen thousand sixty-nine charts which were collected from May 2007 to June 2010 in International Healthcare Service Center, Kyung Hee University Medical Center, were reviewed for the study. Fifteen thousand two hundred fifty charts including Sasang constitutional diagnosis and lipid profiling were selected and we examined the correlation between Sasang constitution and dyslipidemia. Results: After adjusted for body mass index, the levels of total cholesterol and triglyceride were highest in Taeeum group, and lowest in Soeum group. High-density lipoprotein was highest in Soeum group, and lowest in Taeeum group. After adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index, the odds ratios for 'high triglyceride' were 1.716 (1.411~2.087) in Soyang group and 2.021 (1.650~2.475) in Taeeum group compared to Soeum group. The odds ratio for 'high low-density lipoprotein' was 1.229 (1.006~1.501) in Soyang group compared to Soeum group. The odds ratios for 'low high-density lipoprotein' were 1.195 (1.033~1.381) in Soyang group and 1.414 (1.212~1.649) in Taeeum group compared to Soeum group. Conclusions: The lipid profiles and dyslipidemic risk differed across constitutional types, showing constitution type-specific patterns, so that we could infer the possibility that Sasang constitutional types can be a risk factor of dyslipidemia.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
• /
• v.22 no.1
• /
• pp.19-27
• /
• 2015

Purpose : The purpose of this study is to check the current status of accessability to rehabilitation therapy in local areas and to review how to improve the accessability. In fact, first, it is very hard for patients to find out a local medical center with rehabilitation therapy capability. Moreover they needs to wait long time to get a treatment they need, because of lack of nearby rehabilitation centers. The best way to enhance the accessability to the rehabilitation therapy service is to allow therapists to set up rehabilitation centers in local areas on their own, physically independent from medical doctors. Basically, the current law does not prohibit therapists' own sole practice. However, it needs to be amended by inserting an explicit legal basis on the setting-up process. If it is legally permissible for the therapists to set up rehabilitation centers to perform a rehabilitation treatment with referrals from of medical doctors (though physically independent from the doctors), it would result in the increase of profits for the doctors and at the same time raise therapists' freedom of occupation, a constitutional right. Furthermore, with their own places to practice, therapists will have to compete with other therapists, that would raise the quality of their treatments, which will in turn benefit patients ultimately. A proposed bill of amendments to the Act on Medical Technicians and etc. is pending for review at the National Assembly. I look forward to vigorous discussion on the bill based on this article, and resulting in revision of the law for the benefits of patients.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.40 no.4
• /
• pp.612-628
• /
• 2019

Objective: The aim of this review was to investigate clinical studies on Korean medical treatments for dysmenorrhea. Method: Using the keywords "dysmenorrhea," "Korean medical treatment," "acupuncture," and "herbal medicine," searches were conducted using domestic databases, including the National Discovery for Science Leaders (NDSL), the Research Information Sharing Service(RISS), and the Oriental Medicine Advanced Searching Integrated System (OASIS). The keywords were combined in various ways, instead of being searched individually. Papers that did not cover clinical studies or were not matched with the subject, absent of the abstract and text, were excluded. Results: Using the above searching method, 20 studies were found. Of these, 15 were in the form of case reports and five were in the form of randomized controlled trials. Acupuncture, herb medicine, pharmacopuncture, moxibustion, and cupping were used as treatments for dysmenorrhea. All of these studies reported that the Korean medical treatment was effective. Conclusion: According to the results, Korean medical treatments can provide an effective treatment for dysmenorrhea. However, more clinical studies on dysmenorrhea should be conducted for further clinical applications.