The supervising ministry for national university hospitals and national university dental hospitals will shift from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The move is intended to develop national university hospitals into regional hub hospitals responsible not only for education and research but also for regional, essential, and public health care.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Education said on the 11th that the Cabinet meeting approved revisions to the Enforcement Decree of the National University Hospital Establishment Act and the Enforcement Decree of the National University Dental Hospital Establishment Act.
Previously, a bill to change the supervising ministry for national university hospitals and national university dental hospitals from the Ministry of Education to the welfare ministry was promulgated on Feb. It will take effect on the 20th. The latest enforcement decree revisions are follow-up procedures necessary for the law's implementation.
Accordingly, the authority that receives documents related to recommendations for national university hospital directors, as well as the hospital's requests for contributions and subsidies and business plans, will change from the Minister of Education to the Minister of Welfare. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will also succeed the Ministry of Education's affairs related to the management and operation of national university hospitals.
Related duties for national university dental hospitals will likewise be transferred to the welfare ministry.
Regulations will also be revised so hospital organizations can be run flexibly in line with the medical environment. Previously, organizations were to be operated centering on lower-level units such as divisions, bureaus, departments, and offices specified by law, but going forward, additional lower-level units may be set by the articles of association if needed.
The government plans to use this ministerial transfer to strengthen linkages between national university hospitals and health care policy. In particular, it will support regional national university hospitals in maintaining their roles as teaching hospitals for medical schools while functioning as key hubs for regional, essential, and public health care.
The revised enforcement decrees will take effect on the 20th, the effective date of the parent law. The government plans to complete procedures for changing the supervising ministry in line with the enforcement of the law and the decrees.