SEOUL — April 20, 2025 — Medical experts from across South Korea gathered at the ‘2025 Spring Symposium’ to address the critical needs of home care solutions, and the expansion of hospice services. The symposium, held in Seoul, South Korea, examined patient transitions, the importance of transitional medical care, and the expanding role of home hospice. Emphasizing patient dignity, it’s a move towards better care.
Korean Medical Experts Convene too Discuss Home Care Challenges and Hospice Expansion
April 21, 2025
Symposium Highlights Need for Integrated Home Care
Seoul, South Korea—The Korean Society of Home Medical association convened its ‘2025 Spring Symposium’ on April 20 at the Samjung Hotel, addressing the theme of Conversion and Family Hospice: Challenge and Cooperation for Sustainable Home Care.
Medical and care experts explored the critical need for enhanced home hospice services and the development of transitional medical care systems.
South Korea is rapidly becoming an ultra-aged society, increasing the demand for effective and sustainable home care solutions.
The symposium underscored the challenges in transitioning patients from hospitals to home care. Park Gun-woo, professor of neurology at ancient Anam Hospital and chairman, noted the difficulties in transferring discharged patients to home medical care due to logistical issues. Even if you want to send a discharged patient home to receive home medical care, it is unusual to be transferred to nursing hospitals due to realistic problems such as home medical care at the hospital medical cooperation center. We will seek effective ways to connect.
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Transitional medical Care: Bridging the Gap
A key focus of the morning session was the present and future of transitional medical care. Speakers emphasized that a robust institutional system and patient-centered medical facts sharing are crucial for effective transitional care.
- Definition: Transitional medical care supports patients after discharge, ensuring continuous and safe treatment at home.
- Importance: It is increasingly vital in South Korea’s aging society to reduce medical expenses by minimizing hospital readmissions and emergency visits among elderly patients.
Sohn Ki-young, a professor of family medicine at Seoul Asan Hospital, highlighted the decline in functional ability among elderly patients post-hospitalization. There is a study that the ability to perform daily life falls to half of the time when the elderly who are admitted to the general hospital are discharged.
He emphasized the potential benefits of continuous care: After discharge, it is possible to significantly reduce the re-entry rate with continuous and comprehensive treatment and self-management, and accelerate the patient’s smooth daily return.
Implementing comprehensive discharge plans and post-discharge management can significantly improve patient outcomes and reduce hospital readmission rates.
Lee Sun-kyung, head of the medical cooperation team at Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital, pointed out the current limitations. The medical Cooperation Center deals with more than 300 cases per month,and only 10% of them return to home.
She added, There is no concept of discharge plan for patients with home returns and the concept of post -discharge management, and there is a lack of awareness and information on home medical care.
Lee Sang-bum, director of Seoul Shin, specializing in visiting care, warned of potential gaps in patient care after discharge. After discharge, patients are likely to be placed in medical gaps in medication management or emergency response. In particular, chronic patients and high -risk elderly patients need continuous management.
Ryu Ji-ho,CEO of the Senior Welfare Center,suggested a practical solution: If you reflect the performance of senior hospitals and local resource linkages as an evaluation indicator,it will be able to induce practical cooperation.
Expanding Home Hospice: Dignifying End-of-Life Care
The afternoon session, led by Tak Young-ran, a professor of nursing at Hanyang University, focused on the necessity of expanding life-to-life care through home hospice services to help patients maintain dignity.
lee Chan-nyeong, a professor of neurology at ancient Anam Hospital, highlighted the current limitations of hospice care in South Korea.Our country’s hospice is still operated by cancer patients, and other neurological diseases are in the blind spot of life -long care.
Kim Sun-hee, chairman of the Korea Visiting Nursing Association, noted that many individuals in long-term care are not receiving adequate hospice services. Many long -term care is a life -to -life state, but it is not receiving home hospice services.
Kim Ho-sung, director of the camellia Hospital, clarified the goals of home hospice. The purpose of the home hospice is to go to the emergency room, not the death of the home. The home medical center will be able to play a significant role in the end of life.
Kim Chang-oh, chairman of the care clinic, acknowledged the realities of home medical care. If you do home medical care, you will inevitably face the death of the patient.
Following the symposium, Lee Kun-se, a professor of preventive medicine at Konkuk University, summarized the key takeaways. It is a time when policy authorities are focusing on relieving patients to senior hospitals, but more in -depth discussions on the transitional medical care that is tailored to patient needs. It’s.
FAQ: Understanding Home Care and Hospice
- What is transitional medical care?
- A system that supports patients after hospital discharge to ensure continuous and safe treatment at home.
- Why is home hospice important?
- It provides end-of-life care that allows patients to maintain dignity and comfort in their own homes.
- Who benefits from home medical care?
- Chronic patients, high-risk elderly patients, and those needing continuous management after hospital discharge.
- How can hospitals improve transitional care?
- By implementing comprehensive discharge plans,post-discharge management,and better coordination with local resources.
