Suspension of Medical License | Suspension Upheld as 'Justified' Against an Oriental Medicine Doctor Who Reused Single-Use Needles

A, who received the suspension of medical license, is an oriental medicine doctor operating an oriental medicine clinic in Daegu, and it was revealed that over a period of about two years, A disinfected and reused single-use multi-needles (MTS)* on eleven patients.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare determined that A's conduct constituted an 'immoral medical practice' as provided in Article 32, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of the former Enforcement Decree of the Medical Service Act, and imposed a one-month suspension of license.

A filed an administrative lawsuit claiming that the disposition was excessive, stating, "The MTS procedure is not a medical practice, the multi-needles were thoroughly disinfected and reused only once, and no health problems arose for the patients."

* MTS: a treatment method that uses fine needles to enhance the skin's regenerative and recovery capacity

The court did not accept A's argument in the suit seeking revocation of the suspension of medical license.

The court held that "the MTS procedure constitutes a medical practice that requires specialized medical knowledge, because skin damage and the possibility of infection may arise during the procedure."

The court also stated, "Even if the single-use multi-needles at issue do not fall under the single-use injection medical supplies whose reuse is prohibited under the Medical Service Act, the risk of infection upon reuse is high, and therefore A's conduct constitutes an immoral medical practice."

With respect to A's argument that the Ministry of Health and Welfare had deviated from or abused its discretionary power, the court likewise found that "medical practices directly bearing on the life and health of the public require a high degree of legal compliance," and that "considering the number of times A reused the multi-needles, the duration, and the possibility of infection, the degree of illegality is by no means slight," and accordingly determined that the disposition was not excessive.

We analyzed the judgment of the Administrative Court, which found that, in the suit seeking revocation of a disposition brought by an oriental medicine doctor who received a suspension of medical license, the reuse of single-use needles was an immoral medical practice and that the suspension disposition was justified.

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