“Payment reservations can be made through an app, just like ‘ticketing’”… Elderly people being pushed out of hospitals

☞Subscribe to the Hankyoreh newsletter H:730. Type ‘Hankyoreh h730’ in the search bar. “I felt sad and frustrated when I actually saw the elderly who were pushed out of the opportunity to receive medical treatment.” Jang Yun-jeong (44, Songpa-gu, Seoul), who visited an internal medicine clinic near her home with her child who had a cold on the morning of the 25th of last month, was surprised to see an elderly person whose condition worsened while waiting for treatment and was having difficulty controlling her body. The hospital that Mr. Jang visited was a place that accepted hospital reservation applications such as ‘Dokdak’ and on-site registration at the same time. The elderly man arrived at the hospital before 10 a.m., but because he applied on-site, he could not receive treatment until around 1 p.m. . As flu and pneumonia become prevalent, people are flocking to hospitals such as pediatric departments and internal medicine departments, and patients are complaining that it is difficult to receive treatment without paid hospital reservation apps such as ‘Dokdak’. It is pointed out that the right to receive medical treatment may be violated for vulnerable groups who have difficulty accessing paid services or digitally excluded groups such as the elderly. The government’s position is that there is a possibility of violating medical law (refusal of treatment) if reservations are accepted only through paid apps. Launched in 2017, Dokdoc is a service that allows you to make medical appointments through an app. Dokdoc is the only one that provides this service in conjunction with the medical institution system. It has a cumulative number of subscribers of 10 million and is affiliated with over 10,000 hospitals and clinics nationwide. Mr. Hong (30), who lives in Deokyang-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, came down with the flu on the 2nd and called two otolaryngology clinics near his home. However, after being told that it would be difficult to get treatment or that he would have to wait a long time if he did not make a reservation through a paid hospital reservation app, he drove to Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. I rode out and finally received medical treatment. Mr. Hong said, “I urgently went to the hospital because I had a severe fever, but she said it would be difficult to get treatment unless I made a reservation in advance through the app, so I was at a loss.” In particular, for parents raising children, reservations through apps have become essential as competition for pediatric care becomes fiercer. Kim Jeong-deok (44, Guro-gu, Seoul), who is raising a 9-year-old child, also said that he installed a hospital reservation app for the first time in March of this year because of his child’s hospital visit. Mr. Kim said, “When you call the hospital, the first thing they ask is, ‘Did you have a knock?’ “I had no choice but to install the app because they said I couldn’t make a reservation without it,” he said. “Now, if you want to go to the hospital, you have to go into the app as soon as 8 a.m. and make a reservation, just like ‘ticketing.’” As some hospitals are making it impossible to provide treatment without using a paid app, there are concerns that the ‘right to receive treatment if you are sick’ may be violated. Jin Jin, policy director of the Coalition of Health and Medical Organizations for the Realization of the Right to Health, said, “Currently, it is 1,000 won per month, but if a monopoly structure is formed in the future, the price may be raised and a gap in access to medical care may be created.” There are cases where elderly people who are not used to using the app just look at the ‘reservations’ that came later than them without understanding the meaning. Mr. Hong said, “My mother, who is in her 60s, was unable to make an appointment through her app, so she had to wait two hours to receive her treatment.” Professor Soon-Dul Jeong of Ewha Womans University (Department of Social Welfare) said, “This could result in discrimination against elderly people who find it difficult to use the app,” and added, “Instead of receiving medical appointments through the app alone, we should also allow face-to-face applications, and there will be no discrimination between the two methods.” “It shouldn’t exist,” he said. An official from the Ministry of Health and Welfare said, “If a hospital requires only a certain method to be used to make a reservation, it may amount to refusal of treatment,” and added, “We have sent an official letter to each local government asking them to monitor and supervise the use of various reception methods in parallel.” Dtokdak explained that it does not give priority like the ‘fast track’ at amusement parks, but is only a service that replaces ‘standing in line’. In a phone call with the Hankyoreh, a Ddokdak official said, “We are informing hospitals to use both on-site and mobile applications,” and added, “We are charging a fee to operate the service for a long time due to billions of won in deficit per year.” “There are no plans to increase prices in the future.” Reporter Go Byeong-chan kick@hani.co.kr Reporter Go Gyeong-ju goh@hani.co.kr