We often see emergency rooms packed with patients, but are they all in serious conditions? It is certainly not the case, and the National Health Insurance Bureau is planning to make some adjustments to lighten the load, so that those who are in critical state can receive immediate assistance upon arrival. Under the new proposal, the government will only fund emergency visits, to avoid people of abusing the health care system.

Hospital emergency rooms are always crowded with people with all sorts of illnesses, ranging from toothaches, to diarrhea and other pain.

In order to alleviate the congestion at emergency rooms, the National Health Insurance Bureau is considering adjusting these examination fees to the equivalent of standard outpatient services. This means that even if the emergency physicians are willing to serve these patients, the National Health Insurance will not pay more. However, if an emergency arises and patients cannot access normal clinic services then the National Health Insurance Bureau will pay emergency examination fees.

The National Health Insurance Bureau emphasized that emergency room physician reimbursement for examination fees, must meet the conditions of clinical emergency.

This is dependent upon the severity of the patient and the urgency of classification.

First stage includes those that have no heartbeat, while the least serious are colds, toothaches, stomach pain and other symptoms which are assessed as the fifth grade.

Physicians will assess conditions and classify accordingly. The National Health Insurance Bureau is discouraging the practice of emergency room care for minor ailments.

This change is currently in the deliberation stage, with discussion and implementation taking place later.

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