Patient Dies During Implant Procedure at Large Gangnam Dental Clinic

Gangnam-gu announced on August 25 that it immediately conducted an on-site inspection and reported the findings to the Ministry of Health and Welfare after learning about the deaths of two patients at a large, low-cost dental clinic in Gangnam, Seoul, over an eight-month period.

The district office stated that this incident exposed blind spots in the current medical accident information-sharing system and requested institutional improvements from the government.

Following the death of a patient who was undergoing an implant procedure at dental clinic A in Gangnam-gu on December 30 of last year, a similar fatal accident occurred at the same clinic on the 3rd of this month.

The clinic reportedly used narcotic sedatives and local anesthetics during the treatment of the deceased patients.

Subsequently, on the 21st, Representative Lee So-hee of the People Power Party asked Minister of Health and Welfare Chung Eun-kyeong during a meeting of the National Health and Welfare Committee whether the jurisdiction's public health center had inspected the clinic, to which Minister Chung replied that she would check.

In a press release issued that day, Gangnam-gu stated, "We did not receive a separate notification at the time of the first accident, and we first became aware of the accident through media reports on January 26 of this year."

The district explained, "We subsequently included the medical institution in a planned joint inspection of dental clinics and hospitals frequently using medical narcotics, which was conducted by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and Gangnam-gu in February."

Gangnam-gu also noted that it learned of the second death through media reports on the 14th, and conducted an unannounced joint inspection of the clinic with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety on the 18th—immediately following the Liberation Day holiday—before reporting the results to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 24th.

The district explained, "The inspection verified the handling and storage of medical narcotics, the maintenance and preservation of medical records, medical licenses and qualifications, and facility standards, but no specific violations were found."

Gangnam-gu pointed out that under the current system, even if a major medical accident such as a patient's death occurs at a clinic-level medical institution, there are limitations in allowing the jurisdiction's public health center to grasp the situation in real time.

It also emphasized that administrative inspections by public health centers are procedures to check compliance with laws such as the Medical Service Act and the Narcotics Control Act, which are distinct from investigations to determine causality between patient deaths and medical practices, or occupational negligence by medical staff.

Gangnam-gu argued that the current medical accident information-sharing system should be improved in light of this incident.

The district plans to propose to the Ministry of Health and Welfare the establishment of a system to quickly share and notify local governments with jurisdiction when major medical accidents occur at clinic-level medical institutions.

It also plans to request the expansion of operating room facility standards—currently applied to general anesthesia—to intravenous and sedation anesthesia, thereby making patient monitors and emergency equipment mandatory.

To supplement the existing biannual inspections, the district plans to conduct quarterly intensive inspections focusing on areas closely related to patient safety for medical institutions within its jurisdiction.

(Photo provided by Gangnam-gu, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.