Travel Limitation for Patients Who Have Mental Illness in South Korea

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May 5, 2024 by itkwon

In South Korea, the medical system is designed to see doctors regularly within a week, but each meeting is done in not longer than 10 minutes. The meeting between a patient and a doctor is too short, and a doctor will act like a technician, a nurse practitioner, or a robot.

Furthermore, longer travel is limited when someone is having heavy depression. Travel could give happiness to someone who has depression, but it is not allowed because Korean psychiatrists are reluctant to prescribe medicines more than 2 weeks. I see someone was prescribed medication for a month, but I see this is a rare exception.

Current substance abuse issue in South Korea worsens the problem because some addicts are being deceitful to get more medicines to abuse by taking more than instructed and prescribed. They might give excuse travel or let cohorts to get same medicine to gather.

If someone with mental illness has an extended business abroad, someone must face a big problem. Especially the issue is bigger when a patient sees a doctor to calibrate the prescription at the first moments.

This system is violating human rights to travel freely even though one can travel with medication.