Assault, insults now grounds to refuse emergency room care in new guidelines

Medical personnel can now refuse to provide services to patients or guardians who insult or assault staff in an emergency room under new guidelines recently issued by the government.

A man in his 60s sets fire in an emergency room in Busan in June 2022. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Medical personnel can now refuse to provide services to patients or guardians who insult or assault staff in an emergency room under new guidelines recently issued by the government.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare sent guidelines specifying legitimate reasons for refusing treatment under the Emergency Medical Service Act to local governments and medical associations last Friday. This marks the first time the government has issued instructions detailing how hospitals should deal with patients or guardians who obstruct the work of emergency medical staff.

According to Article 6 of the Emergency Medical Service Act, emergency medical personnel cannot refuse or evade providing emergency medical services without "good cause." However, the new guidelines now specify what circumstances or actions by patients or their guardians constitute good causes for denying treatment.

Under the guidelines, patients or their guardians can be refused treatment if they assault, threaten, deceive or use force in any way against emergency personnel.

They can also be denied treatment if they damage, destroy or prevent the use of emergency medical facilities, equipment or medical supplies.

Under the new guidelines, medical staff can also refuse to treat patients when extenuating circumstances impede their ability to provide appropriate care to a patient.

This includes unforeseen communication failures, power outages, fires, building damage or other disasters that make it impossible to accommodate patients.

The guidelines also include instances where the lack of emergency medical resources such as staff, facilities and equipment makes it impossible to provide appropriate care to the patient.

The guidelines stipulate that refusal to treat patients is justified when a patient or guardian declares they cannot follow through with the treatment plan, making it medically inadvisable to perform specific procedures, or when a patient or their guardian demands a treatment method that goes against the medical professional’s conscience or expertise.

BY ESTHER RHEE,KIM MIN-YOUNG [kim.minyoung5@joongang.co.kr]