Blocking "Fake Ambulances" at the Source with GPS-Based Real-Time Operation Management

Ministry of Health and Welfare Mandates Automatic Transmission of Operation Records
Ambulance Transfer and Treatment Fees Increased for the First Time in 12 Years

The government is establishing a management system to eradicate so-called "fake ambulances," including false or unauthorized ambulance operations, by utilizing a GPS-based real-time operation management system. Ambulance transfer and treatment fees, which have been frozen for 12 years, will also be updated to reflect current realities.

Emergency Ambulance Record Management System Flowchart. Ministry of Health and Welfare

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on July 12 that it will promulgate and implement a partial amendment to the Enforcement Rule of the Emergency Medical Services Act on July 13, containing these measures. This revision was prepared in response to the President's directive to eliminate improper ambulance operations by private transport providers and to address institutional blind spots identified during a special inspection last year.

With this amendment, all ambulances will be required to transmit data such as location and operation times, collected by their operational recorders, in real time to the Ambulance Record Management System (AiR). The system will automatically record departure and arrival points, routes taken, and times using GPS, while ambulance operators will input the purpose of the trip and cumulative mileage to complete and manage operation logs. The Ministry expects this will enable real-time verification of false operations and enhance the effectiveness of on-site inspections.

Ambulance transfer and treatment fees will also be adjusted. The basic and additional fees, which have remained unchanged since 2014, will be increased. A new "standby fee" will be introduced to compensate for the waiting time incurred when handing over patients at medical institutions. Additionally, the scope of nighttime and holiday surcharges on weekdays will be expanded to reflect increased operating costs and to encourage improved quality in private transfer services.

Equipment standards for ambulances will also be strengthened to ensure patient safety. All ambulances will now be required to carry an epinephrine auto-injector to enable immediate response to severe allergic reactions such as anaphylactic shock.

Furthermore, while previously only doctors were required to sign when transferring a patient upon arrival at a hospital, the regulation will be relaxed to also allow qualified emergency medical personnel, such as nurses or paramedics, to sign. Some documentation requirements during the licensing and business transfer processes for emergency patient transport services will also be simplified to reduce administrative burdens.

Although the revised rules take effect upon promulgation, the adjustments to transfer and treatment fees and the mandatory epinephrine auto-injector requirement will be implemented one month later to accommodate preparation time. Real-time GPS-based operation information transmission will be introduced in phases: for private transport providers, three months later; and for ambulances operated by medical institutions and national or local governments, one year and three months later.

Separately, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to announce, in the second half of the year, the completion of revisions previously pre-announced, such as the mandatory requirement for at least one paramedic on board for every patient transfer, the expansion of ambulance patient compartment length, and improved staffing standards for emergency patient transport services.

Lee Jungkyu, Director of Public Health Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, emphasized, "Building a GPS-based real-time operation management system will be an important step in increasing the transparency and reliability of ambulance operations. We will continue to pursue institutional improvements to create an emergency patient transfer system that the public can use with confidence."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.