Patients would not have to get new scans when moving hospitals This photo of a Seoul-based hospital is not directly related to this story. (Im Se-jun/The Korea Herald) The South Korean government on Friday said it is pushing to implement a system allowing hospitals to share medical imaging of a patient, such as CT and MRI scans.The system, part of the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans for the second half of the year, is to spare patients the extra medical expenses and inconvenience of getting new scans every time they move between different hospitals.The patient would use a QR code to upload existing medical images to the medical institution of their choosing, with the new system set to be implemented by the first half of 2027. The ministry also plans to set up a system allowing real-time searches of existing images by medical institutions by December.It is possible for patients to request a copy of their medical imaging scans for a hospital when they go to another medical institution. But it was found that a substantial portion of patients get new scans instead.A total of 944,172 patients visited more than one hospital for the same issue within 30 days, according to June data from the Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service. Of those, 26.8 percent had at least one new scan done after moving hospitals.For MRIs, 13.8 percent of patients got multiple scans for the same issue from more than one hospital within a month.There are cases where a new scan is medically justified, such as the existing image not being clear or the patient's conditions worsening. But some hospitals are suspected of doing new scans customarily, regardless of medical justification.Both CT and MRI scans are partially covered by the National Health Insurance, meaning avoidable scans poses a burden on both NHI funds and the patient.It was found that 65 billion won ($45.3 million) was spent last year in extra scans, which is a significant burden amid speculations that funds for the state-run health insurance program could be depleted by 2033.The ministry believes that hospitals sharing medical imaging information would reduce the number of extra scans currently being conducted.