Pediatric hospitals say the government must fix the terms of its regional pediatric care network pilot program before making it permanent, arguing that current reimbursement levels cannot sustain the system. The program has helped stabilize a pediatric care system on the verge of collapse, they said, but support at present levels is not viable over the long term.
The Korean Association of Children's Hospitals released the results of a survey of its member hospitals on the pilot program at a news conference held on the afternoon of the 28th at the Korean Hospital Association building in Seoul's Mapo District.
The pilot program, set to expire at the end of this year, links local clinics, children's hospitals, general hospitals and tertiary hospitals into a single cooperative network so that pediatric patients with moderate or more serious conditions can be referred and transferred quickly and treated without delay. The government launched the program in August 2024, selecting 20 networks across 11 regions. Those networks comprised 20 hub hospitals, 136 participating hospitals and clinics, and 21 backup hospitals handling severe and emergency cases.
The survey was conducted over three days from the 24th to the 26th, covering 15 hub hospitals in the pilot program and 10 children's hospitals that are not participating.
According to the findings, 53.3% of hub hospitals in the pilot program said the program had been "a great help" in restoring a pediatric care system in crisis, while 26.7% said it had been "somewhat helpful." That means eight in 10 hub hospitals rated the program's effects positively. A further 86.6% said expanding the program to children's hospitals nationwide would help revitalize pediatric care.
Still, hospitals said the operational burden outweighs the compensation. Asked about the biggest difficulty in running the program, 46.7% said current reimbursement rates and support levels fall short of the staffing and costs actually required. As the change that must be reflected when the program becomes permanent, 60.0% of hub hospitals cited the creation of a "base payment" for maintaining the network and taking part in the program itself, not just for referral and transfer volumes. That would mean funding the cost of keeping staff and systems on standby so hospitals can respond immediately when a patient arrives.
Children's hospitals that stayed out of the pilot program also pressed for better participation terms. Asked whether they would join if the program became permanent under the current guidelines and reimbursement rates, 50.0% said they would participate if the terms improved. Another 20.0% said they would not participate under the current terms.
"Hub hospitals in the pilot program show high acceptance rates for transfers, while responses from participating and non-participating hospitals indicate that transfers are effectively difficult," said Choi Yong-jae, president of the Korean Association of Children's Hospitals. "Substantially expanding the scale and support of hub hospitals to narrow that gap would help build a national safety net for children." The association head added that the permanent program must be designed more carefully, reflecting input from the field, to minimize delays and confusion in the transfer process.
