title: Critical Care In Korea: Present and Future.
abstract: Critical (or intensive) care medicine (CCM) is a branch of medicine concerned with the care of patients with potentially reversible life-threatening conditions. Numerous studies have demonstrated that adequate staffing is of crucial importance for patient outcome. Adequate staffing also showed favorable cost-effectiveness in terms of ICU stay, decreased use of resources, and lower re-admission rates. The current status of CCM of our country is not comparable to that of advanced countries. The global pandemic episodes in the past decade showed that our society is not well prepared for severe illnesses or mass casualty. To improve CCM in Korea, reimbursement of the government must be amended such that referral hospitals can hire sufficient number of qualified intensivists and nurses. For the government to address these urgent issues, public awareness of the role of CCM is also required.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Chae-Man
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Chonnam National University Medical School and Hospital, Gwangju, Korea.
authors.forename: Sang-Hyun
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Kwak
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care Medine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Gee Young
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Suh
authors.affiliation: Department of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Ulsan, College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Younsuck
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koh
mesh_terms: D003422:Critical Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005544:Forecasting; D007362:Intensive Care Units / Q000458:organization & administration*; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D056910:Republic of Korea
keywords: Critical Care Medicine; Intensivist; Korea