건강보험 보장성 강화에 따른 의료체계의 지속가능성 제고 방향(Improving the sustainability of healthcare delivery in line with NHI coverage enhancement)

This study suggests several changes to make the Korean healthcare delivery system more sustainable and to better align it with the on-going plan of enhancing NHI coverage for the four major diseases. If implemented in the current form the coverage enhancement will lead to a structural over-concentration of patients in the "Big5" general hospitals. In this regard, the provider-oriented healthcare delivery system needs to be more patient- oriented. The process of the systemic reorganization should involve, on the one hand, improvement of chronic disease management via regional healthcare cooperative networks, and on the other, establishment of sub-acute healthcare delivery system. The over-concentration of patients around the Big5 hospitals is evidence of how irrational the current healthcare delivery system is. A multidimensional policy kit is needed to change the public's unconditional preference for big and high-tech hospitals to informed preference for efficient services that meet their medical needs.