Health Policy Manag.  2024 Mar;34(1):1-3. 10.4332/KJHPA.2024.34.1.1.

The Policy Package Related to Essential Medical Service: The Key Is Elaboration and Solidification

• Lee SH

• KMID: 2562557
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4332/KJHPA.2024.34.1.1

Abstract

Currently, the issue of poor accessibility to essential medical services has been brought to light as a social discontent. In order to strengthen the essential medical service system, the government has announced the “the policy package related to essential medical service” as a comprehensive solution and has vowed to invest more than 10 trillion won by 2028. As it contains crucial elements for changing the framework of the healthcare system, I would like to present several points to consider in policy implementation. Given that this package contains important elements for changing the framework of the healthcare system, there are a few issues to consider in policy implementation. First, a mechanism to prevent politicization should be established when designing the physician training system. Second, changing from a hospital centered on residents to one centered on specialists means that the society bears the cost of training residents, while paying a high price for specialist services. The willingness of society to pay for the costs incurred by such a change should be carefully considered, and an appropriate budget must be prepared. Third, as the operation of shared human resources and inter-organizational networking, among other detailed policy measures, are still at a level of conceptual discussion, various issues should be solidly reviewed and considered for in the mid to long term to suit the conditions of the domestic healthcare system.

Keyword

Essential medical service; Accessibility; Essential medical policy package