Will new measures ease shortage of pediatricians in Korea?

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Health ministry vows to spend 300 bil. won to address problem

By Jun Ji-hye

The government announced new measures to address a shortage of pediatric physicians in Korea, which experts fear could escalate into a major child health care crisis.

Many parents, who have been on the hunt for pediatricians and waited for hours to see them when their children were sick ― especially during weekends, holidays or late at night ― are paying close attention to whether the government’s latest measures, the third to be announced this year alone, will actually tackle the growing concerns over a possible collapse of the child health care system.

The latest measures announced on Friday focused on enhancing the compensation given to pediatricians and pediatric residents.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it will provide a training subsidy of 1 million won ($750) per month for pediatric residents. The bonus, which comes from the national health insurance system, will also be provided to pediatricians who treat children aged under six.

The ministry will double the compensation for hospitals and pharmacies offering medical services for children late at night, and increase the number of hospitals that operate at night and on holidays across the country. An average of 200 million won will be offered to each of these hospitals.

“Through the announcement of the latest measures, the government expressed its willingness to better nurture pediatric specialists and improve pediatric care,” Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong said during a media briefing.

It was the third announcement made by the ministry this year to improve pediatric care. The last announcements were made in January and February.

In January, the ministry announced plans to enhance emergency care for children and compensate for losses incurred by medical institutes treating seriously-ill children. At the time, the ministry also vowed to build more hospitals that operate at night and on holidays.

The measures announced in February included improving the working environment of pediatric residents.

The shortage of pediatric hospitals and doctors is mainly attributed to a falling birthrate and a growing reluctance among medical trainees to specialize in pediatrics due to the heavy workload and low pay compared to other popular fields such as plastic surgery.

Yet, the overall effectiveness of the government’s measures announced in January and February has appeared to be limited, as the number of young doctors who applied to be pediatric residents this year stood at only 33 out of the 199 quota target, accounting for just 16.6 percent, according to data tallied by the Korean Pediatric Society.

The gap was large, when compared to other popular fields within medicine, as data tallied last year showed that the residents' application rates in rehabilitation medicine and plastic surgery stood at 202 percent and 180.6 percent, respectively.

Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyoo-hong speaks during a media briefing at the Government Complex in Seoul, Friday, announcing the government's third set of measures to improve pediatric care. Yonhap

This was why the health ministry concentrated its efforts on maintaining and reinforcing the medical infrastructure for children, and encouraging more young doctors to specialize in pediatrics when announcing the latest -- and third set of -- measures.

The ministry said about 300 billion won will be mobilized from the national health insurance system to implement the latest measures.

The medical sector gave a positive assessment regarding the government’s latest set of measures, though “they are not sufficient to address all the challenges faced by the field of pediatric care.”

“We expect the government to continue to draw up follow-up measures and improve the working environment for pediatric doctors both legally and institutionally, so outstanding workforce will voluntarily apply to pediatrics,” the Korea Medical Association said in a statement.

Park Min-soo, second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, acknowledged that its short-term policies will have limitations in addressing the manpower shortage problem.

“Fundamentally, long-term policies should be established, including one to increase the quota for medical schools,” Park said. “The health ministry has already announced its plan to push for these policies.”