Abstract
Objectives: The purpose was to study the market of traditional Korean medical devices and survey, list and number medical devices in traditional Korean medical clinics. Methods: we researched in three ways. 1. We investigated the list of devices regarded as traditional Korean medical devices in 'Report on production, export, and import of medical devices.' 2. We investigated the statistics of medical devices equipped in traditional Korean medical clinics through the website of the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service. 3. We surveyed medical devices in traditional Korean medical clinics by mail. Results: 1. We could not directly investigate the market for traditional Korean medical devices because they were not categorized as such ('traditional Korean medical devices'). 2. The number of medical devices in traditional Korean medical clinics has increased alongside the increase of traditional Korean medical clinics. 3. Traditional Korean medical clinics hold over 64,962 medical devices and have below 50 percent of traditional Korean medical diagnosis devices. 4. Meridian function testing machines, pulse diagnosis devices, and yangdorak showed ranking of equipment-ratio equal to ranking of insurance fees. Conclusions: Traditional Korean medical device regulations should be enacted following definitive and concrete Korean traditional medical concepts by the Korean traditional medical society.
