Long-Term Care Hospital and the Role of Neurologist

J Korean Neurol Assoc > Volume 32(1); 2014 > Article

Journal of the Korean Neurological Association 2014;32(1): 1-7.

노인요양병원과 신경과 의사의 역할

이대희, 박건우

서초요양병원, 고려대학교 의과대학 신경과학교실 a

Long-Term Care Hospital and the Role of Neurologist

Dae Hie Lee,

Seocho Long Term Care Center, Seoul, Korea Department of Neurology a , Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Korea health care system and public welfare system have been changed slowly and developed step by step. It makes efforts to promote the welfare of the people, but does not provide good benefits for geriatric patients. In 2008, it was incompletely set up the long term care system in Korea. And the Law on Long-Term Care Insurance for Elderly was officially announced in Nov. 2011 and the law for dementia, Dementia Management Act, was drafted in Feb. 2012. Though there were many laws, the concept of long-term care hospital and geriatric care facility is still obscure. In long-term care hospital, there are big expansion of the number of beds and institutions in Korea. Over a half of the patients in long-term care hospitals are suffered from mixed neurological diseases. Especially, dementia is the comorbid state with other chronic geriatric diseases. In view of the aging population, the role of neurologist will continue to grow. So neurologists need more special training for the needed skills and competencies, and the specific care settings program in long-term care hospital. In this review, the history and current state of long-term care hospital, related laws, and the role of neurologist will be discussed. Key Words: Long-term care hospital, Geriatric care facility, Neurologist