• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.117-144
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• 2013

After several bills for the reasonable medical dispute resolution had been proposed for over twenty years, "Act on Remedy for Damage from Medical Accident and Medical Dispute Mediation" was eventually enacted on April 7, 2011 and came into effect from April 8, 2012. This study evaluates the achievements and results of the past year, suggesting the future improvements or tasks. The main issue of Act on Medical Dispute Mediation is Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. Therefore, the success of the Act depends on the outcomes of Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. Although the Act has been enforced for only one year, this paper examines the outcomes of the Agency with limited materials for its development. Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency was established for rapid, fair, and effective medical dispute resolution. Thus, the evaluation of the performances of the Agency is based on the 1) rapidness, 2) fairness, and 3) effectiveness of the dispute resolution. To sum up, the system earned positive evaluations as for the rapidness and fairness, but some problems were indicated with regard to the effectiveness. As the system of medical dispute mediation and arbitration in Korea has no parallel in the world, other countries show many interests in it. The rapid and fair medical dispute resolution is of benefit in both patients and medical institutes and decreases social costs. As the Act had a difficult passage through Parliament, it should be maintained and improved continuously.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.43-83
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• 2013

Medical treatment has great potential for conflict. Even the best-trained doctors can commit medical malpractice that result in continuing physical or mental disabilities or even death. Medical conflicts have been increasing over years. The medical conflicts between patient and medical professionals that result from medical professionals' mistakes are often fueled by a violation on the pretext of the injuries form medical malpractice and can lead to litigation. The litigation usually cost a lot of money and time. The extension of the litigation period as well as expensive cost and lack of medical knowledge placing a great burden on patients. Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR) is more efficient than litigation. In 1988, the medical dispute mediation system has been introduces as the Act on Remedy for Damage from Medical Accident and Medical Dispute Mediation by Korean Medical Association came into effect after 23 years of enactment efforts. Medical Dispute Mediation Act(hereinafter referred to as the "MDMA") has finally entered into force from 8 April 2012. The purpose of the MDMA is to promptly and fairly redress injuries caused by medical malpractice and create a stable environment for medical services of public health or medical professionals by providing for matters regarding the mediation and arbitration of medical disputes(MDMA ${\S}1$). In an effort to secure the fair, speedy and inexpensive resolution of every malpractice case, the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency(hereinafter referred to as the "K-MEDI") was established. Following the MDMA, the K-MEDI shall endeavor to ensure the medical dispute mediation or arbitration proceedings are conducted in a prompt, fair, and efficient manner, and patients and medical professionals shall attend proceedings in good faith with mutual trust and understanding when they participate in medical dispute mediation or arbitration proceedings.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.163-187
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• 2011

On March 11, 2011, the Korea National Assembly finally passed the bill on the Damage Relief on the Medical Malpractice and Mediation for Medical Dispute. One of the features of this Act is including "The Subrogation Payment System for Damage (abbreviated SPSD)". This System is that 'Korean Medical Dispute Mediation-Arbitration Board' pays the damages, instead of the health care provider, for the patient who isn't paid damages by the health care provider despite of the Mediation or ruling. The purpose of this study is to search the problems and make improvement on SPSD. This System was introduced extreamly to the patients in order to induce them to the mediation. However,there remains several problems. In this articles, I have examined thoroughly the legal issues on SPSD. There are legal issues about the methods and ratio of the financial burden. In this connection, wide discretionary authority has been granted to administrative agencies specifically. On this account, this System clearly contains elements of a violation against the Constitutional Law. Moreover, this System can be broadly applied to the case of court ruling or the Korea Consumer Agency's mediation. But these measures go against the aim of legislation that the medical dispute can be resolved through the mediation or arbitration by this Act. In the end, these problems must be revised through the additional discussion.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.107-117
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• 2010

In this paper, the researcher looked into major issues in the "Act (Draft) on Remedy for Damage from Medical Accident and Medical Dispute Mediation, etc." which was proposed by the Health & Welfare Committee, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, and which was pending with the Legislation & Judiciary Committee. Then the researcher pointed out worrisome problems therein and presented suggestion" to improve problematic situations. First of all, the researcher examined the following items which are major points in the aforementioned Act: 1) Establishment of Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Center, 2) Procedures for mediation and arbitration of medical disputes, 3) Establishment of Medical Injury Compensation Association, 4) Introduction of proxy payment for damages, 5) Compensation for no-fault medical accidents, 6) A system concerned with special cases on criminal punishment. Next, the researcher closely reviewed the following possible issues: 1) Limit of arbitrary mediation, 2) Postponement of the system concerned with special case on criminal punishment, 3) Examination of reasons for rejection, 4) Function and role of the Appraisal department, 5) A possibility of being reduced to an evidence collection procedure for lawsuit, 6) A possibility of no-fault compensation rather than injury compensation, 7) Operational issues related proxy payment for damages. Lastly, the researcher presented suggestions on how to improve each problematic issue.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.91-122
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• 2014

For a variety of reasons, the number of medical disputes is continuously rising. Due to the intrinsic qualities of medical treatments, one would find it more apt to subject medical disputes to general conflict resolution procedures rather than to once-for-all decisions under legal suits. To address the increasing medical disputes with greater professionalism and efficiency, the Medical Disputes Mediation Act was enacted and a medical dispute mediation system put in place, while drawbacks have been blamed to both. The current mediation procedures require the respondent's agreement as a disclosure requirement. A reasonable improvement to this would be to amend the regulation of agreement supposition, or to enforce procedural participation only to public health facilities managed by the national or regional government. Furthermore, small claims cases of 20 million KRW or less in claim may be considered for conciliation-prepositive principle. The concentration on small claim medical disputes is a phenomenon that can be addressed by carrying out maximum authentication commissions or similar measures, one of the solutions by enhancing the public trust in the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. The proper management of medical authentication teams is one way to address the existing problems in the authentication system. For this, the number of team members shall be increased under more flexible authentication procedures. All indemnity resources for medical accidents of force majeure must be borne by the Government, for it is the body principally responsible for social compensation. Placing this cost on the establisher of the subject medical facility holds the possibility of violating fundamental rights. While the costs for subrogation payment system for damages may be borne by the healthcare facility establisher, a deposit-based system must be created for cases in which the facility shuts down, without holding the responsibility for accident cause. Such change to a deposit-based system will evade the controversies of unconstitutionality, etc.

• Journal of Arbitration Studies
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.185-198
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• 2020

In the event of a medical conflict in South Korea, civil lawsuits can be very complicated, time-consuming, and costly. Under the Medical Conflict Conciliation Act, the mediation system has expanded its function to coordinate disputes between individuals and medical institutions in a more efficient manner prior to litigation. Currently, conflict mediation organizations and legal systems are established in each sector, and the Healthcare Dispute Settlement Commission will also play an important role in the public sector. In this study, the characteristics of the evaluation system of the Korea Institute of Medical Conflict Arbitration are examined; and, by looking at the case of medical examinations, it is proposed to show the mediation system and the manner and role of the examinations. Medical expertise is a very important area of the qualitative standards and expertise of participants because the participants must play a role in medical consultation and appraisal in connection with medical experts.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.255-288
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• 2015

It is desirable to prevent medical accidents because they bring about irretrievable outcomes to patients, as they are directly related to each patient's life, and health. However, once medical accidents occur, it is appropriate to resolve them quickly without conflict before the feelings of directly involved people are intensely confronted with each other. Korea Consumer Agency carries out medical dispute mediation to address such disputes quickly, fairly, and efficiently, and so does Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. Although there has been constant debate on a merge between the two agencies because of duplicated work and consequent inefficiency, it is desirable to maintain the two agencies to ensure consumers' options and to promote the mutual development of the agencies through competition. Therefore, there should be legal and systematical support for Korea Consumer Agency to have fair competition with Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency. This is not for Korea Consumer Agency, but ultimately for consumers.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.85-116
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• 2013

Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency, "K-MEDI" in abbr. herein-after, is established on Apr. 9, 2012 according to the law cited in the title above for the purpose of settling medical disputes in a prompt, fair and efficient manner. Two special professional organizations are established in K-MEDI, one of them is Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Committee(hereinafter referred to as the "Mediation Committee") and the other Medical Malpractice Appraisal Board(hereinaf-ter referred to as the "Appraisal Board"), the mission of the latter is to investigate the facts concerning the disputed medical conduct and to research as to and apprai-se whether the medical conduct was negligent and whether a causal relationship exists. Each panel organized in the Mediation Committee or the Appraisal Board shall be comprised of five mediators or appraisers, including necessarily a judge or a prose-cutor respectively and any disputed case regardless of the scale, the importance or the complicacy shall be handled by a panel. As the system is not thought efficient or economic, the number of the members comprising a panel or total members com-prising the Mediation Committee or the Appraisal Board shoud be adjusted, and the process shoud be versified, including the "Rapid Process," for instance. A petition for the mediation of a medical dispute shall be rejected if the respondent fails to notify K-MEDI of his/her intention to accede to the mediation within 14days from the day on which the petition for the mediation was served(Art. 27 Cl. 7). As the option of an arbitrary decision whether the mediation proceedings shall be commenced or not given to the respondent by the clause is thought unfair, making the process unstable, and moreover, diminishing the purpose of the system established by the law cited above for solving the medical disputes, the clause shoud be amended not to allow the respondent the option of such an arbitrary deci-sion. K-MEDI shall conduct the "Program for Compensation of Medical Accidents"(Art 46) according to which unavoidable injuries caused by the medical accidents in the cour-se of childbirth and the "Advances for Damages"(Art. 47) that are the compensating moneys paid to victims in medical malpractice cases who fail to receive money at all or partly from the operator or the professional of a public health or medical institution although he/she has a final and conclusive right to be paid by them. Some operators or professionals of such institutions claim that both the programs violate their fundamental rights assured by the constitution, and that it be a justifica-tion of refusal to accede to the mediation. As any of the programs needs not to be conducted by K-MEDI, it may be a proper solution to change the conductor of the programs to avoid the unproductive controversy.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.139-168
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• 2016

Two alternative dispute resolutions for medical dispute have been operated under the States of German Medical Associations. The first is the medical mediation committee of North german area, the other is the advisory committee on medical errors in North-Rhine area. The former has focused on the mediation itself, the latter commission has focused on the expert review itself whether the physician has maintained reasonable care in diagnosis and treatment. Even though these organizations have maintained under the medical associations, to maintain the neutrality on legal and medical decision, the North German mediation committee is composed of a lawyer and a medicine doctor respectively and North-Rhine advisory committee has a lawyer chair person and four medicine doctors. The main difference of Korean Medical Dispute Mediation Agency in respect from the german system is that expert review is subordinated to the mediation process. The neutrality of expert review is suspected from the medicine doctors. The neytrality and the efficiency should be improved to treat the medical disputes. To do so, lawyer and medicine doctor work together in mediation process and lawyer should manage the expert review process but not involved. Mediation process and expert review should be checked and balanced, and they could be developed as a separated process itself.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.280-291
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• 2021

Background: Based on the fact that the Korea Medical Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Agency is a public institution established by social demands for medical disputes, this study reviews the publicness of public organization and discusses its policy implications. Methods: Through Moore's strategic triangle, which consists of legitimacy and support, public value and operational capacity, the process of creating public value is examined. For the analysis, case studies were conducted using related literature data from 2012, when the agency was established, to the present. Results: As a result of the analysis, first, the related law examined in the operational capability has been revised dozens of times, but the revised law has its own contradictions and limitations. The human resource system is also being improved, but there is a problem with the fairness and reliability of the arbitration process, especially due to the limitations of the appraiser system. Second, in terms of legitimacy and support, a regional gap occurred despite efforts to improve accessibility through the expansion of the organization. And the arbitration agency failed to reconcile conflicts caused by stakeholders' perception of each other as a trade-off relationship. Third, the public value result shows that, despite many explicit (statistical) achievements, citizens' use of the past dispute resolution means (litigation) has not decreased. Likewise, the perception of value makers (citizens) is important for creating public value as an invisible result, but it has not yet been formally investigated, so the performance can not be recognized. Conclusion: While the organization's efforts for continuous change and improvement are encouraging, it is not perceived as a better means of resolving disputes and improving quality of services. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider the institutional design centered on value creators.