A presidential committee on medical reform is set to establish a new body to estimate the shortage of doctors and better reflect the medical community's demand amid the protracted walkout, a senior official said Sunday. A senior presidential official told Yonhap News Agency by phone that the committee has completed its review of the new body, which he said will also address issues like increasing the medical school quota. About 12,000 trainee doctors have left their worksites since Feb. 20 in protest of the government's plan to boost the number of medical students by 2,000. The permanent body will use data, such as the number of medical graduates, population demographics and health insurance statistics, to estimate the required number of health care workers for the future. It will consist of subcommittees, each composed of 10 to 15 experts, in various health care professions, including physicians, nurses, dentists and traditional Korean medicine. The government plans to grant a majority of the nominatio n rights of these experts to the private sector and doctors' groups to incorporate their demands. Source: Yonhap News Agency
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