With the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee set to hold its first meeting of the latter half on the 29th, another clash between the ruling and opposition parties is expected over the "three contentious bills." The committee's "three contentious bills" refer to amendments to the Medical Service Act and the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act, and the enactment of the Digital Healthcare Act. All are bills that could bring significant changes to the medical and pharmaceutical sector, and the ruling and opposition parties have been at odds with differing positions since the first half of the 22nd National Assembly. The three bills have also become a source of conflict within the medical and pharmaceutical community.
The Medical Service Act amendment and the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act amendment would allow the government to designate "medicines with unstable supply and demand" and, when necessary, permit "ingredient names." The bills were introduced by Rep. Jang Jong-tae of the Democratic Party of Korea.
The two amendments remain pending in the standing committee because the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement in the first half of the National Assembly. Interests within the medical and pharmaceutical sector are at play in the background. A sticking point is the part that would allow pharmacists to dispense a drug that has the same ingredient name but a different product name from the one prescribed by the physician.
A source in the medical and pharmaceutical community said, "If the amendments pass as they are, physicians' authority could be weakened and pharmacists' authority strengthened." Another source noted, "While prescribing authority lies with physicians, responsibility could become unclear if, during the actual dispensing process, the drug is changed (to an ingredient name at the pharmacist's discretion)."
The bill to enact the Digital Healthcare Act is also contentious. The bill would expand the scope of medical data use to actively apply it in research and industry. However, debate has arisen that it is unclear who owns medical data and who should be held responsible if a leak occurs. Within the medical community, some said, "The bill focuses only on data use, and issues such as the production process, compensation, and relief for damage have not been discussed." In the end, the bill was not handled in the first half of the National Assembly due to differences between the ruling and opposition parties.
Meanwhile, the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee will hold a full committee meeting on the 29th to appoint the ruling and opposition party secretaries. People Power Party Rep. Lee Man-hee is a strong candidate for committee chair, with Rep. Seo Young-seok mentioned as the ruling party secretary and Rep. Baek Jong-heon as the opposition party secretary.