Health Ministry to assess quality of emergency patient transport services, seeks companies for pilot program

[Financial News] The Ministry of Health and Welfare is seeking companies to participate in a pilot certification program that assesses the quality of emergency patient transport services. The program aims to go beyond checking compliance with statutory standards by evaluating services as a whole and encouraging companies to make voluntary improvements.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Central Emergency Medical Center at the National Medical Center said on the 20th that they would accept applications from the 21st through the 30th for the “Emergency Patient Transport Service Quality Certification Pilot Program.”
Eligible applicants are emergency patient transport companies that were licensed before January 1, 2023, and have remained in operation through the announcement date. They must meet additional eligibility requirements, including those concerning their record of administrative sanctions and transport performance. Nonprofit corporations may also apply if they meet the requirements.
The review will involve verification of applicants’ eligibility, a document review and an on-site assessment. In the mandatory area, reviewers will check compliance with statutory standards related to personnel, facilities, capital, equipment and records. The quality area will assess five categories—operations, personnel, equipment, infection control and records—examining matters such as training for transport personnel, equipment management, ambulance disinfection and the reliability of transport records.
To receive certification, applicants must meet all standards in the mandatory area and score at least 60 points overall in the quality area, as well as at least 40% of the points allotted to each individual indicator. Certified companies will receive a certificate and a certification mark, valid for two years from the date of certification.
Applications can be submitted through the Ambulance Record Management System (AiR). The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Emergency Medical Center are expected to announce the final results in December, following the review and the certification committee’s deliberation. Detailed eligibility requirements, review criteria and required documents are available on the system’s integrated bulletin board.
Lee Jung-gyu, the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Director General for Public Healthcare Policy, said, “Based on the review results of this pilot project, we will lay the institutional groundwork for improving the quality of emergency patient transport services.”
Choi Dae-hae, head of the National Emergency Medical Center, said, “We will faithfully run the pilot project and reflect feedback from the field so that the emergency patient transport service quality certification program can become firmly established in practice.” He added, “We will support transport companies so they can voluntarily improve the quality of their services.”

[email protected] Jung Sang-hee Reporter