법과 행정규제 개혁을 통한 의료관광산업의 발전방향 연구

It was as early as in 2000 that the government policy-makers were interested in medical tourism. In the early 2000, the Ministry of Health and Welfare reported health tourism as one of the strategies to make Korea one of the Top 10 Advanced Countries in health industries. As a result, the medical tourism was provided in the Tourism Promotion Act, which became effective on September 25, 2009, and related regulations. Also the Medical Services Act allowed medical tourism for the first time in the admendment in 2009. In the international scenes, under the General Agreement on Trade in Service(GATS) of the World Trade Organization, medical tourism, medical travel, global healthcare belong to Mode II: consumption abroad. In January 2009, Korea adopted global healthcare as a new engine industry powering economic growth and overall activities to “attract foreign patients” based upon the newly-amended Medical Services Act in May 2009. In this regard, Korea’s global healthcare policies and legal framework have some problems to be improved. They will be discussed as explained below by reviewing relevant legal concepts, trends and administrative issues in global healthcare. Some Suggestions: (1) The two terms, “medical tourism” and the “inducement of foreign patients(global healthcare)” may be used interchangeably. However, when legal problems arise, medical issues shall be handled within the scope of medical practices under the Medical Services Act while other issues are subject to separate legal decisions. (2) Currently, general hospitals are permitted to admit foreign patients, up to 5% of their total number of beds (Art. 27-2(5) of the Act). However, such restrictions are expected to be lifted as market principles are applied to global healthcare.