COVID-19 patients can visit local hospitals for treatment

COVID-19 patients can visit local hospitals or oriental clinics to treat medical issues, such as fractures or injuries. They will be temporarily allowed to go outside for medical treatment even if they are under quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters on Tuesday announced its plan to expand outpatient treatment centers for COVID-19 patients under at-home treatment, which allows all hospitals and clinics wishing to treat COVID-19 patients to receive them. Existing outpatient treatment centers are mainly respiratory hospitals, making it hard for COVID-19 patients to be treated for other diseases.

If COVID-19 patients under at-home treatment wish to receive face-to-face treatment, they can visit hospitals designated as an outpatient treatment center. They need to contact a hospital in advance to schedule a visit, and cannot visit places other than the hospital. In principle, a designated person should get prescribed medicines from a pharmacist on behalf of the patient.

Even if COVID-19 patients visit an outpatient treatment center, they can get a prescription for a COVID-19 pill only when they have been treated for COVID-19 related diseases. For example, if a COVID-19 patient sees a dermatologist for burns, he or she cannot get a prescription for a COVID-19 pill.

Hospitals and clinics wishing to enroll as an outpatient treatment center must set a specific time slot or set up a separate space for COVID-19 patients. All hospitals and clinics, including oriental clinics, are qualified to enroll. Hospital-level medical institutions can make an application to Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service from Wednesday and clinic-level medical institutions can do so from next Monday. They will be allowed to treat COVID-19 patients from the day of application. The list of hospitals and clinics designated as outpatient treatment centers can be found on the website of Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (www.hira.or.kr).


asap@donga.com