재벌병원과 의료체계의 변화 = The Impact of Chaebul`s Hospitals on the Health Care System

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

This paper concerns the impact of Chaebul hospitals on the health care system. Recently, two large hospitals, owned and managed by Chaebul Industries, opened in Seoul. These hospitals were different from other hospitals in terms of size, facilities, and services. Especially, services including doctors' attitude, nursing services, and accommodation played an important role in attracting popular attention from the people and the press, since hospitals in general had not provided such decent services to patients.
However, the critical difference between these newly opened hospitals and ordinary hospitals can be found in its organizational structure. By adopting advanced technology and skillful management knowhow, those hospitals maximize organizational efficiency, which is found in shortening moving distance of doctors and cutting down waiting time of patients. And those try to rationalize doctors' organizational behavior by rejecting rebates from pharmaceutical companies and bribes ('chonji') from patients. This system of management intend to promote hospital functions : the enhanced capacity of medical services production and the capacity to control doctors' behavior. For instance, by introducing an medical management information system, doctors could strengthen their curing skill, while the hospitals could monitor doctors' behavior in every aspect.
The rise of Chaebul's hospitals has resulted in rationalizing hospital organization and enhancing the standards of hospital services on the health care system. However, what is more important is to note that the medical capital initiates the reform of hospital organization, which implies declining doctors' power within hospital and within the health care system.