Certification Mark for High-Performing Private Ambulance Providers... "Transport Service Quality Assessment"

Ministry of Health and Welfare Seeks Providers for Pilot Quality Certification Program
Assessment Covers Operations, Personnel, Equipment, Infection Control and Records; Certification Valid for Two Years

A pilot program will evaluate the quality of private ambulance transport services and award a certification mark to providers that meet high standards.

Emergency Patient Transport Service Quality Certification Mark

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Emergency Medical Center at the National Medical Center said on October 20 that they are recruiting providers to take part in the pilot program for quality certification of emergency patient transport services through October 30.

Emergency patient transport services use ambulances and other vehicles to transport emergency patients, and are one component of the emergency medical system, including the transfer of patients between hospitals. The pilot program was designed to conduct a comprehensive assessment of transport service quality, going beyond the existing practice of checking compliance with statutory requirements.

Eligible providers must have been licensed to operate an emergency patient transport service before January 1, 2023, and must have remained in operation through the application announcement date. They must meet the eligibility requirements specified in the announcement, including requirements concerning administrative sanctions and transport records. Nonprofit corporations established under relevant laws may also apply if they meet the requirements.

Following verification of eligibility, applications will undergo a document review and an on-site inspection. In the mandatory category, reviewers will check compliance with statutory requirements concerning personnel, facilities, capital, equipment and records. The quality category will assess five areas: operations, personnel, equipment, infection control and records. Key assessment criteria include training for transport personnel, equipment management, ambulance disinfection and the reliability of transport records.

To receive certification, providers must meet all requirements in the mandatory category and score at least 60 points overall in the quality category. They must also earn at least 40% of the available points for each individual indicator. Certified providers will receive a certificate and certification mark, valid for two years from the date of certification.

Applications will be accepted through the Ambulance Record Management System. After eligibility verification, document and on-site reviews, and deliberation by the certification committee, the final results are scheduled to be announced in December.

Lee Junggyu, Director General for Public Healthcare Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "Emergency patient transport services are an important component of the emergency medical system, and it is important to create an environment in which the public can use them with confidence. We will establish an institutional foundation for improving transport service quality based on the assessment results." Choi Daehae, head of the National Emergency Medical Center, said, "We will run the pilot program diligently and incorporate feedback from the field to ensure the certification system takes hold smoothly. We will support transport providers in voluntarily improving the quality of their services."

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