• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.281-313
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• 2016

Our Constitution obliges the state to protect the health of the people, and the Medical Law, which embodied Constitution, sets out in detail the matters related to open the medical institution and one of them is to prohibit the operation of multiple medical institutions In the past, there was a provision stipulating the same purpose. But because the Supreme Court interpreted that several medical institutions could be opened if the medical treatment was not made at the additional medical instition which was opened in the another doctor,s license, multiple medical institutions could be opened and operated. However, some health care providers opened the several medical institutions to another doctor's license just by the excuse of the business management and then did illegal medical cares like the unfair luring of patients, overtreatment, and commition treatment for more profits. So, the health rights of the people came to be infringed on. Accordingly, lawmakers amended the Medical Law for medical personnel not to open and to operate more than one medical institution. As the amended medical law prohibited a medical personnel to open multiple medical institution, some medical personnels insisted that the amended medical law is unconstitutional under which they could not be able to open and operate medical institutions on based on free investment and bring out the benefits of network hospitals. But the regulation to prohibit multiple institutions does not apply only to a medical personnel. Many other experts like lawyer and pharmacist can open only one office under such a restriction. If the regulation goes out of force, the procedure that multiple medical institutions should be opened and operated in the capacity as a medical corporation or a non-profit corporation does not have to be followed. And we should keep in mind that the permission for medical personels to open multiple medical institutions could lead virtually to commercial hospital. If in the nation with a very low rate of public medical service, If only a few medical personnels with capital own many medical institutions and operate commercially them, this could cause a falling-off in quality of medical service, ultimately infringe on the health rights and the life right of the people.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.227-261
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• 2015

Cooperative associations are established in order to enhance the rights and the interests of their members and serve the local communities, and actually do much for the local society. And among these, consumer cooperatives are spontaneously founded, particularly in the spirit of mutual help, in order to promote the common welfare of the members. Meanwhile, because the current medical law qualifys noncommercial corporation to open medical institution, consumer cooperative and noncommercial- corporation cooperative which are established under the Cooperative Act have the right to do. However, though cooperative association should be founded for common interests of the members who are weaker parties of society, it became rapidly to be abused as means of circumvention of law. Especially as National Health Insurance Corporation stepped up the investigation and the collection of unfair profits against the hospital owned by non-medical personnel who are unable to establish a medical institution, setting up medical institutions as a roundabout way to avoid the restricts dramatically increased in number. In this study, we are going to introduce the current dualised normative system regulating the establishment of a medical cooperative association, and find a way to improve the system and make up for the week points. And we will look though the present situation about medical cooperative association's opening, operating, and closing, and review the normative and systematic improving plans.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.143-174
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• 2019

Our Constitution obliges the state to protect the health of the people, and the Medical Law, which embodied Constitution, sets out in detail the matters related to open the medical institution, and one of them is to prohibit the operation of multiple medical institutions. By the way, virtually multiple medical institutions could be opened and operated because the Supreme Court had interpreted that several medical institutions could be opened if medical activities were not performed directly at the additional medical institution which was opened under the another doctor's license. However, some health care providers opened the several medical institutions with another doctor's license for the purpose of the maximization of profit, and did illegal medical cares like the unfair luring of patients, over-treatment, and commission treatment. Also, realistic problems such as the infringed health rights have arisen. Accordingly, lawmakers had come to amend the Medical Law to readjust the system of opening for medical institution so that medical personnel could not open or operate more than one medical institution for any reason. For this reason, the Constitutional Court recently declared a constitutional decision through a long period of in-depth deliberation because the constitutional petition and the adjudication on the constitutionality of statutes had been filed on whether Article 33 paragraph 8 of the revised medical law is unconstitutional. The Constitutional Court acknowledged the "justice of purpose" in view of the importance of public medical institutions, of the prevention from seduction of for-profit patients and from over-treatment, and of the fact that health care should not be the object of commercial transactions. Given the risk that medical personnel might be subject to outside capital, the concern that the holder of the medical institution's opening certificate and the actual operator may be separated, the principle that the human body and life should not be just a means, and the current system's inability to identify over-treatment, it also acknowledged the 'minimum infringement'. Furthermore, The Constitutional Court judged it is constitutional in compliance with the principle of restricting fundamental rights, such as 'balance of legal interests'. In this regard, legislative complements are needed in order to effectively prevent the for-profit management and the over-treatment the Constitutional Court is concerned about. In this regard, consumer groups actively support the need for legislation, and health care providers groups also agree on the need for legislation. Therefore, the legislators should respect the recent Constitutional Court's decision and in the near future complete the complementary legislation to reflect the people's interests.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.295-326
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• 2015

Under the revision of medical law on February 1, 2012, health care providers are banned from opening 2 or more medical institutions and being involved in managing the institutions. However, purpose of the legislation of the revised law is unclear and even confirmation of such purpose of the legislation based on the calculation of multiple legislative backgrounds cannot be appropriate means of achieving such purposes. This article confirms and reviews the development of revision of medical law and history of the principle of 'one person-one medical institution', and legislative purpose of the revised medical law as well as examines unconstitutionality of such revision based on limited fundamental rights by the revision, principle of clarity, and principle of the prohibition of excessive restriction.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.33-67
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• 2020

The hospitals that are owned by non-medical personnel result when non-medical personnel with resources conspire with newly graduated medical doctors who cannot afford the enormous amount of capital required at the beginning of the establishment of a medical institution. Such hospitals, though they may have met the external requirements as medical institutions, disrupt the medical market as it should be centered by medical personnels, In addition, such hospitals are causing a huge social problem as it is illegally receiving and reducing various benefits such as medical care benefits and subsidies from the government, resulting in a significant financial leak in the national health insurance. The illegality of the opening of a non-medical personnel hospital is so high that it nullifies the contractual arrangement for the establishment, imposes criminal penalties on all persons involved in the establishment under the Korean Medical Law, and imposes administrative sanctions on medical personnel. In case the hospital was aware of the illegality of its opening, but had applied to receive medical care benefits from the National Health Insurance Act and the Medical Care Act, such actions will result in the return of the benefits under the National Health Insurance Act and the Medical Care Assistance Act, subject to the penalty for the crime of fraud, and aggravated punishment for specific economic crimes based on the amount of gain, as well as civil liability for torts. In this study, we will examine the current status of the regulations on the non-medical personnel hospital and present the basis for future legislative directions by looking at the legal regulations and the attitude of the precedents.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.235-241
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine the state of convenience facilities for the disabled in dental institutions in an effort to provide some information on the improvement of the accessibility of disabled people to dental institutions. A survey was conducted on the licensed dental institutions in the city of Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, from March to April, 2011. The findings of the study were as follows. The dental offices were the majority of the dental institutions investigated, and for the establishment of the dental institutions. Some of the offices were established before 1990, and some were established in 2011. The time period of establishment varied within the offices. As for the location of the dental institutions within the buildings, they were mostly on the second or third floor. Regarding the convenience facilities for the disabled, the most installed convenience facilities were boardwalks and elevators, and the least installed ones were parking lots and restrooms for the disabled. The hospitals and public dental centers were equipped with all the convenience facilities investigated in this study. Overall, the dental institutions that were established in and after 2006 were equipped with more convenience facilities than the dental institutions that were established before 1990. And the dental clinics that were on the third or higher floor were more equipped with elevators and outdoor slope ways than those that were on the first or second floor. Therefore the revision of the law is required to urge even the primary dental institutions to compulsorily install the convenience facilities. The findings of the study are expected to make a contribution to the improvement of the accessibility of disabled people to dental institutions.

• Health and Mission
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• s.17
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• pp.24-27
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• 2009

지난 6.29일자 중앙일보에 보도에 의하면 창원파티마병원은 2005년에 이어 2008년에도 보건복지가족부 주관 전국의료기관평가서 최우수병원으로 선정되었다. 의료서비스 및 환자만족도 등 20개 부문 중 19개 부문에서 A등급을 받아 평가 대상 의료기관 중 최고의 성적을 거두었다. 창원파티마병원은 1969년 마산시 대성동에서 4개 진료과, 10개 병상의 마산파티마병원에서 출발하여 2002년 창원으로 이전, 진료를 시작한 이래 응급환자의 진료에 만전을 기하기 위해 응급의료센터를 개설하고, 보건복지가족부 지정 중증외상 및 응급뇌질환 특성화후보센터를 운영하고 있다. 말기 암 환자를 위한 호스피스 병동을 지역최초로 개설하였고, 전신 암 조기진단장비인 PET-CT 등 첨단 장비를 지속적으로 보강하여 보다 질 높은 의료서비스 제공을 위해 노력하고 있다. 또한 온생명 Care 캠페인을 통해 지구의 환경을 보전하기 위한 환경 운동을 전개하는 한편 다문화 가정 지원사업, 환자와 보호자를 위한 사랑의 음악회, 찾아가는 시민강좌 등 다양한 사회공헌 활동을 하고 있다.

• The Journal of the Korean dental association
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• v.57 no.9
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• pp.514-522
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• 2019

In accordance with Article 33(8) of the Korean Medical Law, it is stated that a medical person cannot open or operate a medical institution by borrowing the name of another medical person. However, the publicity of medical care is threatened by the recent illegal network dental clinics. The purpose of this study is to investigate the actual condition of illegal network dentistry and to analyze the cases and to find out the reason why the prohibition of double opening & operating of medical institution. As a result, the illegal network dental clinics treated less health care insurance treatment such as dental caries and periodontal treatment than general dental hospitals. In contrast, the rate of implementation of illegal network dentistry was high in endodontics treatment and extraction, which could lead to uninsured treatments such as crowns and implants. As a result of Supreme Court precedent analysis, it is concluded that illegal act is not only the opening of a medical institution by borrowing the name of other medical personnel, but also the duplicated operation which has the authority to make decision about management matters of medical institutions. The results of the patient's case survey also showed that excessive dental treatment due to such as dental staff incentive system. In conclusion, the illegal network dental clinics not only threatens the oral health of the public, but also causes leakage of health insurance premiums. In other words, the ban on opening and operating the multiple medical institution should be strictly applied as a strong protection device for protecting the patient in dental case.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.345-366
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• 2014

Because the health care or medical sector has such characteristics as publicity, professionality, and exclusivity, it cannot be left to the free market system. As a consequence, the state has restricted the establishment of medical institutions in order to protect the life and health of people. Also, the medical law has regulated to permit the establishment of medical institutions by only medical personnel and a few corporate bodies and to ban the establishment of medical institutions under disguised ownership as well as double opening of medical institutions by medical personnel. Nevertheless, there are still many cases that non-medical personnel have dominantly established medical institutions under disguised ownership of other medical personnel or nonprofit corporation. Because they are willing to recover their investment costs as soon as possible, these illegally established medical institutions are likely to make patients undergo unnecessary tests or to perform the excessive treatments and, as a result, are likely to cause infringement on the health and lives of the people. In addition, even if the misconduct is uncovered, the rate at which the costs already paid is very low and, as a result, the damages are straightly connected to the people's loss. On the other hand, there are also increasing number of cases that medical personnel or nonprofit corporations are establishing medical institutions against the medical law regulations. The examples of this illegality are also the double opening of medical institutions and the establishment of medical institutions under disguised ownership by medical personnel or nonprofit corporations. And the damages in these cases may not differ from those in the above cases. In this study, regarding medical law regulations restricting opening a medical institution, I will review the intent of those regulations, the type of violations and criminal punishments, and the possibility of recovery from unlawful profit by the National Health Insurance Act. And then, I would like to find a way for rational improvement of each.

• Hospice
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• s.49
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• pp.17-18
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• 2011