History of Korean emergency medicine: 3 elements of development and challenges to be solved

ABSTRACT

The year 2019 was the 30th anniversary of the Korean Society of Emergency Medicine (KSEM) and the 18th International Congress of Emergency Medicine (ICEM) was held in Seoul, Korea. During the last 30 years, Korean emergency medicine has developed and grown enormously, not only in quantity but also in quality. Thus, it is an appropriate occasion to review the history of the KSEM, the three elements of its development, and the challenges to be met. The three major factors contributing to the development of emergency medicine in Korea are the training of emergency medical personnel, the enactment of the emergency medical law, and the creation of an emergency medical fund. The interaction of these three factors has had a synergistic effect on the development of Korean emergency medicine. The challenges to be resolved include the fragmented emergency medical system divided between the fire department and emergency medical centers, the failure of the patient transport system according to the classification of roles for each type of emergency medical center, insufficient quality control in prehospital treatment, and the lack of clarity for the scope of work of emergency medical technicians in the prehospital phase.