Research Report
Legislative Research for Improving the Pediatric and Adolescent Healthcare System
Ⅰ. Background and Purpose
▶Current Status and Limitations of the Pediatric and Adolescent Healthcare System
○Policies and projects in close relation with pediatric and adolescent healthcare are being implemented in separate manner without integration. It is understandable that each relevant governing body has a distinctive field of expertise and is subject to different regulations even for the same law and their execution may differ accordingly. Still, since they are being executed without integration to the pediatric and adolescent healthcare system, it reduces the overall effectiveness.
○Especially, there is no firm legislative foundation for the comprehensive evaluation and survey on pediatric and adolescent healthcare in the legislative and policy making process, leading to insufficient data on the resources and current status of the pediatric and adolescent healthcare.
○From the perspective of sustainability of the pediatric and adolescent healthcare system, it would be essential to have the foundation on which healthcare services are provided and accessed in line with the stage of growth and development. However, South Korea still has not established the integrated healthcare plan for managing from fetus to newborn to school-age children to adolescents and it hinders creating the sustainable framework for promotion and execution of the relevant laws and policies.
○Therefore, this study aims at exploring how to create the legal basis for the comprehensive evaluation on current status of the pediatric and adolescent healthcare system as well as legislative measures for establishing an integrated management plan for the system in order to secure the sustainable pediatric and adolescent healthcare system.
Ⅱ. Key Content
▶Current Status and Issues in Pediatric and Adolescent Healthcare Legislation
○Including the maternal and child health act, the school health act, the disabled persons’ health rights act, and the public health act, several laws and regulations are in force and address pediatric and adolescent healthcare. However, since they are all varied in purpose and scope, the relevant surveys and statutory plans remain disconnected and fragmented, which has impeded the establishment of the sustainable pediatric and adolescent healthcare system.
▶Japan’s Basic Act on Child Development and Child Development & Healthcare Policies and Their Execution
○In 2018, Japan enacted the Basic Act on Child Development, establishing a framework on which healthcare, welfare and education, necessary for the growth and development of children and adolescents, are provided in integration through child development and healthcare policies.
○In 2022, Japan enacted the Child Basic Act, providing the legal foundation for comprehensive rights of children and adolescents, and in 2024, the children and families agency was created. In the case of healthcare policies for child development, they are finalized through the council of the children and families agency under the leadership of the Prime Minister, creating an administratively organized support system that integrates healthcare, welfare, and education of children.
○In addition, for creating a legal framework for home healthcare and family supports for children in need of home medical care, Japan enacted the Act on Support for Medically Dependent Children and Their Families in 2021, which is currently in force.
▶Legislative Tasks for Improvement of the Pediatric and Adolescent Healthcare System
○First, it is necessary to have a legal basis for the comprehensive evaluation on current status of the pediatric and adolescent healthcare system. Second, it is necessary to have a legal basis for the establishment of an information system for continuous monitoring of current status of the pediatric and adolescent healthcare system.
○Third, a legal basis is required for planning the establishment of the sustainable pediatric and adolescent healthcare system.
○It suggests a short-term legislative direction for the establishment of the aforementioned basis in accordance with provisions of the Public Health Act and/or the Framework Act on Health and Medical Services.
Ⅲ. Expected Outcomes
○Provision of basic data for improvement measures for the pediatric and adolescent healthcare system
○Provision of academic data for setting the direction for policies relating to the pediatric and adolescent healthcare system