The Sustainable Development Strategies for Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery: Focusing on Analysis of Member Perception Survey

The Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (ORL-HNS) is responsible for essential medical care directly related to life maintenance and quality of life, including respiration, swallowing, communication, and head and neck tumors.However, due to recent structural transition projects for tertiary hospitals and the limitations of a rigid fee-for-service payment system, severe ORL-HNS diseases are administratively distorted as "mild cases."This has led to a critical situation where the infrastructure within university hospitals is collapsing.To seek sustainable development plans for ORL-HNS, a survey was conducted from January 26 to 30, 2026.A quantitative evaluation alongside a qualitative analysis of subjective responses regarding job status were performed on 304 respondents.The results revealed severe clinical burnout; 67.4% of respondents complained of an excessive workload, and 61.2% expressed dissatisfaction with their income levels.The most overwhelming hindrances to ORL-HNS development were "low medical fee policies and government regulations" (88.8%) and "imbalances in relative value units and low medical fees" (90.1%).Furthermore, 86.5% perceived a serious crisis regarding the shortage of teaching faculty in training hospitals.The "Head and Neck" (63.8%) subdivision was identified as the most avoided field, raising concerns about future shortages of specialists and confirming a visible gap in life-saving essential care.Accordingly, this study explores specific alternatives to restore the fairness of cost-based compensation and lay the foundation for availability compensation, aiming to maintain the essential medical ecosystem and prevent the collapse of the ORL-HNS infrastructure.