The Physician Monopoly on Medical Engineering Equipment: A Relic of the Past
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According to medical law, anyone who is not a licensed medical professional is prohibited from performing medical acts. Additionally, even licensed medical professionals can only perform medical acts within the scope of their qualifications. Blood tests, urine tests, and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation therapy (TENS), as well as manual therapy, are all considered medical acts that fall under the license of a Western medicine doctor.
Case Involving Unauthorized Medical Acts
In a case involving a collaborative hospital between traditional Korean and Western medicine, on days when Western medicine doctors were not present, a Korean medicine doctor prescribed blood tests, urine tests, TENS, and manual therapy, substituting for the Western medicine doctor. The Korean medicine doctor instructed the nurse to perform blood and urine tests without a prescription from a Western doctor and directed the physical therapist to administer TENS and manual therapy without a prescription. The medical records were falsified to make it appear as though a Western medicine doctor had directly treated and prescribed for the patient. The Korean medicine doctor was charged with violating medical law and committing fraud, resulting in a guilty verdict (Gwangju District Court, 2019).
Conflicting Interpretation by the Ministry of Health and Welfare
In this case, the Ministry of Health and Welfare had previously issued a legal interpretation (March 14, 2014, regarding the inquiry from the Korean Medicine Association) stating that a Korean medicine doctor is allowed to use blood test equipment where the results are automatically extracted and quantified. This ruling permits Korean medicine doctors to conduct blood tests based on their professional judgment when necessary. However, the court's ruling in this case contradicts this interpretation from the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Conflicting with Constitutional Court Ruling
The Constitutional Court has also made relevant rulings, such as in the case involving the use of intraocular pressure measurement devices. The Court has emphasized that the purpose of medical law is to protect and promote the health of the public (Article 1), and the law should be interpreted with a focus on protecting public health. The Court ruled that basic results provided by devices like intraocular pressure meters, which do not pose a health hazard and do not require specialized knowledge beyond a Korean medicine doctor's diagnostic ability, do not constitute medical acts beyond the scope of their license (Constitutional Court Decision, December 26, 2013). Based on this reasoning, the Ministry's interpretation also allows Korean medicine doctors to use blood test equipment under certain conditions.
Legal Discrepancies and Concerns
The court ruling from Gwangju District Court is at odds with both the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s legal interpretation and the Constitutional Court’s decision. It is unfortunate that the Ministry's interpretation and the Constitutional Court's ruling were not presented in court to dispute the verdict. Blood and urine tests are generally used in Western medicine as part of patient diagnosis and treatment, and it is difficult to view them as being exclusively within the scope of Western medicine. Additionally, clinical pathologists typically perform the collection and analysis of samples, and these tests are primarily used by Western medicine doctors as references rather than requiring exclusive prescriptions.
Medical Engineering Technology and Its Modern Role
With the rapid development of medical engineering technologies such as AI, IoT, big data, genetic mapping, and robotics, it is outdated to view the use of diagnostic medical equipment as being exclusive to Western medicine doctors. Korean medicine education programs have also incorporated courses on using various medical testing equipment, and students are gaining hands-on experience in using these devices. Given these advancements, the argument that tests such as blood and urine tests are outside the scope of Korean medicine is no longer convincing.
Future of Korean and Western Medicine Collaboration
It is important to clarify the scope of medical acts in Korean medicine through legislation, and to establish clear regulations on the standardization of Korean medicine technologies and collaborative treatment techniques with Western medicine. Disputes over the roles of Korean and Western medicine should be eliminated, as the ultimate goal is to protect the health rights of citizens as guaranteed by the Constitution. The use of advanced diagnostic equipment is not a matter of professional monopoly, but rather a tool to improve patient care and health outcomes.
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