Oriental medicine departments can now be established within psychiatric hospitals... What is the background to the Constitutional Court’s decision?

At the end of last month, the Constitutional Court issued a notable decision surrounding the medical law. The circumstances are as follows. Medical Corporation A, which operated a psychiatric hospital, submitted an inquiry to the Ministry of Health and Welfare in 2021. It was about ‘whether it is possible to establish an oriental medicine department within a psychiatric hospital.’

The Ministry of Health and Welfare responded that it was impossible. The basis was Article 43, Paragraph 1 of the Medical Service Act. The clause included the following: ‘Hospitals, dental hospitals, or general hospitals may hire oriental doctors to establish and operate additional oriental medicine departments.’ However, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s position was that psychiatric hospitals not listed here cannot establish oriental medicine departments.

Establishing an Oriental medicine department in a psychiatric hospital was not impossible from the beginning. The Medical Service Act, revised in January 2009, allows all hospital-level medical institutions to establish and operate medical, oriental medicine, and dental departments. At the time, mental hospitals were included in nursing hospitals, so collaboration between doctors, oriental medicine doctors, and dentists was possible.

However, the situation has changed with the revision of the Medical Service Act in 2020. Psychiatric hospitals are defined as separate medical institutions from nursing hospitals. At the same time, Article 43, Paragraph 3 of the same Act included provisions allowing mental hospitals to establish and operate additional dental departments, but no separate regulations were prepared for the Department of Oriental Medicine.

In this situation, Medical Corporation A protested. They raised their voices saying that allowing oriental medicine departments to be established and operated only in hospitals, dental hospitals, and general hospitals is an infringement on professional freedom. At the same time, a constitutional appeal was requested.

The Constitutional Court ruled that the current medical law was unreasonable and was unconstitutional with the unanimous opinion of all judges. Unlike other hospitals, there is no special reason not to allow oriental medical doctors to provide collaborative care only in psychiatric hospitals.

Rather, the Constitutional Court emphasized that the need for Oriental medicine departments in psychiatric hospitals is even greater. In the case of mental health institutions, there are many hospitalized patients who require long-term treatment, and the purpose is to increase accessibility to medical care by allowing patients who are unable to go outside due to involuntary hospitalization to receive treatment in other fields, such as oriental medicine.

The Constitutional Court also issued a response to the effect of refuting the opinion raised by some that 'oriental medicine treatment is not necessary in mental hospitals.' It was emphasized that citizens who are medical consumers have a desire to receive integrated medical services of oriental and western medicine, and there are clinical cases showing that the treatment results are also effective. This position can be said to be an example showing that the Constitutional Court's view on the combination of oriental and western medicine has advanced.
 

Small Business Team

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Oriental medicine departments can now be established within psychiatric hospitals... What is the background to the Constitutional Court’s decision? (Shortcut)