PHARMACEUTICAL REFORMS IN SOUTH KOREA
Through implementation of its 2000 pharmaceutical reform, the South Korean government expected to reduce the cost of medications and improve service levels, medical appropriateness of care, and drug effectiveness. Despite the reform’s goals, unintended consequence distorted the supply of medical services and spending.
Our study examined the mandatory prescription system and offered an analysis of policy reforms. We found that pharmaceutical reforms revealed vulnerabilities in the national health care system, including public service delivery system, inconsistent decision-making processes, medical treatment misuses, and excessive health care costs inflation. Pharmaceutical reform resulted in unintended consequences in the supply of medical services and expenditures, increased use of uninsured services and high-price drugs, and expanded market share for multinational companies.
