Current status and future prospects of trauma centers in Korea

Article information

J Korean Med Assoc. 2017;60(7):530-532

Publication date (electronic) : 2017 July 21

doi : https://doi.org/10.5124/jkma.2017.60.7.530

Do Joong Park, MD ¹

, Chan Yong Park, MD ²

, Hyun Min Cho, MD ²

, Kang Hyun Lee, MD ³

, Ho-Seong Han, MD ¹

¹Department of Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam, Korea.

²Department of Trauma and Surgical Critical Care, Trauma Center, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea.

³Department of Emergency Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.

Corresponding author: Ho-Seong Han. hanhs@snubh.org

Received 2017 May 20; Accepted 2017 June 01.

Abstract

The government has implemented a regional trauma center project since 2012 with the goal of reducing the preventable trauma death rate in Korea to the level of developed countries. Regional trauma centers should organically cooperate with the government and the Korean Surgical Society to ensure that seriously injured patients are treated at regional level 1 trauma centers and to lead quantitative and qualitative growth with the aim of ensuring leadership within the regional trauma system. We expect that the finances of trauma centers will stabilize and that the role of trauma centers will become more mature by readjusting medical fees to a realistic level and expanding the scope of treatment to include acute care surgery. These efforts will ultimately reduce the preventable trauma mortality rate in Korea.

Keywords: Wounds and Injuries; Death; Trauma centers

References

1. Korean Statistical Information Service. Cause of death statis-tics [Internet] Daejeon: Statistics Korea; 2015. cited 2016 Sep 27. Available from: http://kosis.kr/news/news_02List.jsp?q_search_key=all_data&q_search_text=%EC%82%AC%EB%A7%9D%EC%9B%90%EC%9D%B8&LS_btn.x=0&LS_btn.y=0.

2. Kim H, Jung KY, Kim SP, Kim SH, Noh H, Jang HY, Yoon HD, Heo YJ, Ryu HH, Jeong TO, Hwang Y, Ju JM, Joo MD, Han SK, Cho KW, Choi KH, Park JM, Jung HM, Lee SB, Kyong YY, Ryu JY, Jeon WC, Ahn JY, Lee JY, Ji HJ, Lee TH, Kim OH, Cha YS, Cha KC, Lee KH, Hwang SO. Changes in preventable death rates and traumatic care systems in Korea. J Korean Soc Emerg Med 2012;23:189–197.

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