Cancer patients from provinces flock to major hospitals... 'Medical imbalance' is severe
It has been found that one in three cancer patients visiting the so-called 'Big 5' hospitals in Korea recently are patients who have traveled from provincial areas. This shows that the concentration of medical services in the metropolitan area remains severe, and reflects the reality that patients living in provinces must travel long distances for treatment.
Experts point to the lack of medical infrastructure and the absence of specialized cancer treatment facilities in provincial areas as the causes of this phenomenon. While many patients head to Seoul to receive better medical services, the travel time and costs incurred in the process are becoming a significant burden on patients and their families.
In particular, there is a professional medical void for cancer treatment in provincial areas such as the central region. Since the risk of the disease worsening increases if treatment is not received in a timely manner, there are growing calls to improve the quality of medical services by region.
The government and the medical community must strengthen the cancer treatment capabilities of regional hub hospitals and prepare measures so that patients can receive sufficient medical services near their places of residence. Solving the problem of medical imbalance is an essential task to ensure that all citizens are equally guaranteed the right to health.