Doctors' group slams proposal to disclose physicians' malpractice records: 'Who would treat patients?'

The medical community has pushed back against a National Assembly proposal that would let patients check a doctor’s record of medical malpractice and serious misconduct before receiving treatment or surgery.

“If medical accident records are publicly disclosed like a permanent stigma, medical professionals will worry more about protecting their records than meeting patients’ needs,” the Korean Medical Association (KMA) said in a statement Thursday. “That would expand defensive medicine practices and lead doctors to avoid emergency and critically ill patients.”

The statement followed a forum about the public’s right to know doctors’ medical malpractice records, hosted by People Power Party lawmaker Lee So-hee at the National Assembly on Wednesday.

“We firmly oppose a stigmatizing disclosure system that disregards the unique nature of medical care,” KMA spokesperson Kim Sung-geun said at a regular briefing Thursday. Kim also said the association would not participate in future forums on the proposal.

Rep. Lee supported the disclosure of medical malpractice records and shared her own experience on social media ahead of the forum.

“When I was 15, I underwent surgery for scoliosis and was left paralyzed in my lower body because of a medical accident,” she wrote. “After the operation, I was shocked to learn that the surgeon had been involved in another medical accident just a month earlier.”

Patients and their families currently have no way to check a doctor’s history of serious medical incidents, Lee argued, making institutional safeguards necessary to protect patients’ right to know.

The forum laid out specific categories of records that could be subject to disclosure: final criminal convictions for occupational negligence resulting in death or injury, final convictions for intentionally committing a sex crime against an anesthetized patient and final civil judgments recognizing liability for damages caused by medical malpractice. The proposal could also cover cases where an unlicensed person was allowed to perform surgery, a blood transfusion or general anesthesia that could pose a serious risk to a patient’s life or health, cases where a medical professional performed a procedure outside the scope of their license and cases involving ghost surgery.

Forum participants cited the deaths of singer Shin Hae-chul, who died from medical malpractice in 2014, and Kwon Dae-hee, who died from excessive bleeding during plastic surgery in 2016, as prominent examples of medical malpractice.

The medical community has made clear that it opposes the disclosure of doctors’ medical accident records, warning the practice could further weaken essential medical services. The KMA, the Korean Intern Resident Association and the Korean Hospital Association reportedly did not attend the forum.

After the event, Rep. Lee urged medical groups to join in the public discussion.

“Even if you oppose the proposal, come to the public forum,” she wrote on social media. “Present specific alternatives for protecting the rights of medical professionals.”

Her post drew a flood of critical comments, including claims that “half of emergency rooms would close” and accusations that she was pursuing the system out of personal resentment.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare has also expressed reservations.

“With doctors already avoiding certain specialties because of medical accident risks, no one will want to provide essential care if a system like this is introduced,” a ministry official said. "The criminal offense of occupational negligence resulting in death or injury does not distinguish between gross and minor negligence. If a doctor’s record is disclosed simply because a patient had a poor outcome, medical professionals may avoid high-risk patients, and the public could ultimately suffer the consequences.”

Patient advocacy groups, however, argue that limited disclosure is necessary.

“The disclosure of medical professionals’ records is not a system designed to reveal every medical accident or impose additional punishment on doctors,” the Korea Alliance of Patients Organization said. The group called for a broader public discussion on the specific scope of information that should be disclosed. 

Patients in most U.S. states can access information about physicians’ disciplinary records and certain criminal convictions, according to the National Assembly Research Service and other sources. Britain’s General Medical Council also discloses doctors’ past disciplinary actions, including restrictions imposed on medical licenses.

“We are not proposing that every detail of a doctor’s history be made public,” Rep. Lee told the JoongAng Ilbo. “We are proposing disclosure for doctors found guilty of occupational negligence resulting in death or injury whose final sentence is a custodial term or heavier punishment. I will carefully refine the proposed legislation to clearly define the scope of disclosure.”

BY CHAE HYE-SEON [[email protected]]