Doctors' and dentists' associations are strongly protesting as discussions accelerate on amending the Medical Technicians Act, which would allow medical technicians, including physical therapists, to provide home rehabilitation services for patients with limited mobility.
The Korean Medical Association (KMA) and the Korean Dental Association (KDA) held a "National Rally of Doctor and Dentist Representatives to Block the Medical Technicians Act Revision" in front of the National Assembly on the 19th. "If our justified warnings continue to be ignored, we will mobilize the firm resolve of all doctors and dentists and respond head-on," the associations said.
The National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee held a "one-point" legislative review subcommittee meeting starting at 2 p.m. that day to deliberate the revision bill. The Medical Technicians Act regulates the qualifications, scope of duties, and supervisory relationships of medical technicians, including clinical pathologists, radiologists, physical therapists, and occupational therapists. The existing law defines medical technicians as "persons engaged in medical treatment or medico-chemical examinations under the guidance of a doctor or dentist." The scope of guidance is typically interpreted as being within medical institutions, meaning patients with limited mobility must visit hospitals in person or be hospitalized to receive rehabilitation treatment.
The revision broadens the scope so that duties previously performed under a doctor's guidance can also be carried out based on a doctor's prescription or referral. This establishes a legal basis for medical technicians to perform rehabilitation treatment and other duties outside medical institutions when a doctor issues a prescription. The bill was originally scheduled to be tabled at the Health and Welfare Committee's First Legislative Review Subcommittee on the 28th of last month but was excluded after the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach agreement. The KMA and other physician groups had pushed back strongly, calling it "an attempt to shake the very foundation of the medical system."
The political drive to amend the Medical Technicians Act is closely tied to the Integrated Care Act, which took effect on March 27. With the National Assembly's Welfare Committee convening even a one-point legislative review subcommittee to demonstrate its will to revise the law, doctors' groups now find themselves under urgent pressure.
KMA Chairman Kim Taek-woo said, "Medical care does not simply end with a single prescription. We must continuously check the patient's condition, reassess risks, and respond immediately when problems arise. If the home rehabilitation system shifts to a prescription-based model, the gap in patient safety in the actual field is likely to widen." He added, "Some argue the law needs to be amended for integrated care and home rehabilitation, but a government pilot project conducted since around January 2023 has confirmed that integrated care and home rehabilitation are possible even under a doctor's guidance. According to the government's roadmap, home rehabilitation by physical therapists is scheduled to be introduced during the stabilization phase in 2028 to 2029, so there is no reason to rush the law revision now."
Lee Jung-woo, acting chairman of the KDA, added, "If medical technicians' duties become possible only through 'prescription or referral' rather than under the 'guidance' of doctors and dentists, unpredictable and arbitrary actions could occur. Substandard care will proliferate, and the damage will fall on the public."
Among doctors and dentists, there are strong concerns that the revision could be exploited as a backdoor to allow medical technicians to "open practices independently" in the future. Rep. Nam In-soon of the Democratic Party of Korea, who represented the bill, consulted with the Ministry of Health and Welfare amid fierce opposition from physician groups and reflected in the revised version a clause stating that "only medical technicians affiliated with medical institutions can perform such duties." This eliminated the possibility of independent practice that the KMA had feared. Nevertheless, the doctors' opposition has not subsided.
Choi Jung-seop, chairman of the National Council of Metropolitan and Provincial Medical Association Presidents (and chairman of the Gwangju Metropolitan Medical Association), said at the rally, "We will not compromise with any attempt to undermine doctors' inherent authority and right of guidance. The National Assembly must squarely face the voices of the healthcare field and immediately withdraw this bad law that could become the trigger for medical technicians' independent practice."
