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Should We Be Physicians as Good Samaritans?

  • Korean Journal of Medical Ethics
  • Abbr : 의료윤리
  • 2019, 22(1), pp.34-52
  • DOI : 10.35301/ksme.2019.22.1.34
  • Publisher : The Korean Society For Medical Ethics
  • Research Area : Medicine and Pharmacy > General Medicine
  • Received : February 10, 2019
  • Accepted : March 12, 2019
  • Published : March 31, 2019

Hyun A Bae ORD ID 1

1이화여자대학교

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Good Samaritan laws are designed to encourage individuals, including physicians, to provide medical care in emergency situations. Such laws purport to protect physicians and others who volunteer to provide assistance during emergencies. However, whether Good Samaritan laws, such as the Korean Emergency Service Act article 5-2, really do protect physicians is uncertain and varies from case to case. When attempts at providing emergency medical care do not go as expected, and legal disputes arise, such disputes will inevitably affect how other physicians respond to future medical emergencies. In this article I argue that the current legislation needs to be revised and expanded to fully protect physicians who provide emergency medical care in good faith. In particular, the relevant laws must also protect physicians who render emergency aid hospital settings when they have no pre-existing duty to provide assistance.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.

This paper was written with support from the National Research Foundation of Korea.