J Korean Med Assoc.  2006 Dec;49(12):1062-1066. 10.5124/jkma.2006.49.12.1062.

The Current Status and Measures of Ever-increasing Geriatric Care Hospitals

• Shin YS

• KMID: 2184736
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2006.49.12.1062

Abstract

Many health care hospitals for the elderly ("Geriatric care hospital") are being founded as a result the rapid increase in the elderly population in Korea. As the population in Korea ages, there is move toward a mass geriatric society with a corresponding increase in the number of and geriatric care hospitals beds. Accordingly, the government's health care policy, social ethics and medical care services must change in order to adapt to the aging society. In general, when the cost and quality grows hand in hand and quality improvements are needed to meet expectations, unnecessary expenses can be reduced. The government can be expected to take on the role to firmly secure this balance. In addition, medical institutions must be aware that an investment based solely on profit can have deleterious outcomes. In conclusion, geriatric care hospital should not be evaluated only by its expansion in size or need, but should be judged on the consistent improvement in the quality of medical services they provide. The government, a group of hospital administrators or a social-welfare groups cannot solve this task alone. The government must offer legal, institutional and financial support, while people of all fields must find some common ground in geriatric care. Moreover, the development of an appropriate and efficient supervising system for geriatric care, and greater efforts of the geriatric hospitals themselves are needed to improve medical care.

MeSH Terms

Aged
Aging
Delivery of Health Care
Ethics
Financial Support
Hand
Hospital Administrators
Humans
Investments
Korea
Public Policy
Quality Improvement

Figure

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  Figure 1 Increasing trends of geriatric care hospital from 2003 to 2006. Abrupt increasing rate is revealed during 1 year from 2005 to 2006. The statistics for geriatric care hospital was not done until 2001. (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 & 2006 Year Statistics Hospital in Korea, Korean Hospital Association)