Do you know the word for legally cutting in line? Making a ‘reservation’ means that people who have pre-booked receive service first compared to those standing in line at the site. In other words, you pay in advance to skip the waiting time.
Recently, the number of people using applications showing the status of hospital reception and patient reservations has increased. Initially offered as a free service, now users are required to pay approximately 1,100 won per month. Now, patients make appointments anytime they want on their smartphones. Then the patient can go to the hospital on time for medical treatment.
There are other examples like this in our society. There is a growing voice that Magic Pass, used at an amusement park, is legally cutting in line. Magic Pass is a ride reservation system introduced in 2006. Due to the nature of the amusement park, many people gather and wait in line for hours to ride one ride. However, people with Magic Pass have been raising their voices of protest as they have been prioritized over those waiting to board the ride on-site.
In this way, pre-purchase systems can lead to another inequity. If patients do not know the hospital appointment app, a patient in urgent need of treatment may not be able to receive treatment promptly. In amusement parks, there are quite a few cases in which children complain to their parents, such as, “Why can’t we enter quickly like those people?”. Jeong Jae-seung, a professor of Bio and Brain Engineering at KAIST also mentioned that children will learn specific values when they see cases such as Magic Pass when they are young.
Of course, there are advantages such as patients who have been sick for a long time, making an appointment in advance so that they can see the doctor first. However, issues like inequality in medical care must be addressed. We as a society should find a better way for all.
