WTO 保健醫療서비스 協商과 主要 爭點

초록

The current article reviews the progress of the WTO Doha Development Agenda negotiations on medical service; identifies and analyzes some of the critical issues that have emerged in the ongoing negotiations; and goes on to render detailed assessments on the existing domestic rules and policies relevant with those issues. The current article discusses four main issues of the WTO negotiations on medical service according to the four modes of supply as distinguished under the GATS; namely the commercial telemedicine services, consumption of health services abroad, the commercial provision of health services via foreign-invested clinics or practices, and movement of health professionals. It then examines relevant provisions in the recently revised Korean Medical Service Act, and reasons that they are ill-equiped in many aspects to accomodate developing trends in the market as well as changes that may be forthcoming from the WTO negotiations. The current article concludes that, irrespective of the direction and the subsequent outcome of the WTO negotiations, it is vitally important for the sound development of the medical industry to remove unnecessary government regulations.