End-of-Life and Hospice Issues in Korean Aging Society

Abstract

This paper deals with legal and institutional aspects of end-of-life and hospice issues in Korea. With the high speed of aging in Korean society we face end-of-life issues and policies at the terminal stage. Policies on life-sustaining treatment decisions to death in later life were developed from the 2000’s and legislated into the Cancer Control Act in 2010. It was not until February 2016 that the Cancer Control Act was a legal provision of hospice and palliative care even for terminal cancer patients. The Cancer Control Act made an impact on the institutional and financial situations of hospice and palliative care. The first impact is a medical care-centered care flow and a transfer model for hospice and palliative care. Public policies focus on hospice services inside general hospitals, so that independent hospice centers or community services are underdeveloped. The second impact is a patient-initiated decision model into hospice and palliative care. Physicians had no legal obligation to explain to patients their terminal situation and prognosis and could inform them only when they choose Therefore, it was not until July 2015 that hospice and palliative care was covered by the public health insurance system.