[Sportschosun reporter Jang Jong-ho] The Korean Association of Long-Term Care Hospitals, led by Chairman Lim Seon-jae, said it will launch a strong internal cleanup effort over the illegal payback practices at some cancer long-term care hospitals.
It also urged that properly operated long-term care hospitals should not be harmed during administrative investigations into payback practices at cancer long-term care hospitals.
In response to the recent payback scandal involving cancer long-term care hospitals, the association said it will operate an internal reporting channel for tips and complaints about illegal activity. It also decided that any hospital found to have violated the law in a government investigation will be referred to the association's ethics committee and subject to a zero-tolerance policy.
Chairman Lim said, "Trust in long-term care hospitals is something we must ultimately protect ourselves," adding, "Before relying on government crackdowns, the association will first screen out illegal conduct by member hospitals, and if a problem is confirmed, we will respond firmly without delay."
He also stated, "For the sake of self-purification in the medical community and the restoration of trust, hospitals that engage in illegal paybacks must be severely punished and completely driven out of the medical market. They no longer deserve to operate as long-term care hospitals." He added, "At the association level as well, we will take tough action as soon as any illegal conduct is confirmed."
The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) recently launched an Administrative Task Force on Irregular and Fake Treatment to crack down on illegal patient solicitation and referral, as well as non-covered payback practices at some Korean medicine and cancer long-term care hospitals. On the 1st, it announced that it had asked police to investigate two hospitals, three long-term care hospitals, and one Korean medicine hospital.
The association has already expressed strong support for the move, and has now decided to go a step further by strengthening its own self-regulatory efforts among member hospitals.
However, it said it is deeply concerned that illegal acts by a few unethical long-term care hospitals are fueling negative perceptions of the entire sector, causing even the majority of honest hospitals to become targets of distrust.
Chairman Lim said, "We must clearly distinguish between the very few cancer long-term care hospitals that broke the law and the properly run hospitals that quietly provide dignified care," adding, "Please be especially careful so that they are not lumped together and unfairly criticized or subjected to unnecessary harm during government administrative investigations and media coverage."
Jang Jong-ho, bellho@sportschosun.com
