[One Day Ten Thousand Steps, One Day One Thousand Characters] Chronic Disease Patients, Take Care of Your Health by Walking and Receive Support Funds

Support funds will be provided to chronic disease patients such as those with hypertension and diabetes who practice healthy living on their own through activities like walking or continuously participate in disease management services.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 28th that health lifestyle practice support funds will be provided in all 109 cities, counties, and districts currently conducting the primary care chronic disease management pilot project. This service, which was previously offered in only 10 regions, is now being expanded.

Hypertension and diabetes patients registered in the primary care chronic disease management pilot project will receive up to 80,000 points annually if they engage in walking exercises or continuously participate in disease management services provided by clinics. Accumulated points can be used in online shopping malls and other places. Points can be used once at least 11,000 points have been accumulated.

Practice points are provided according to the extent of healthy lifestyle activities such as walking and completing health management programs. Points for the number of steps are given after the National Health Insurance Service verifies the step count recorded in the participant’s mobile app (The Health Insurance). The participant’s smartphone must be linked with a built-in pedometer or similar device.

Clinics where participants are registered for hypertension and diabetes management must enter the target step count on the computerized screen for establishing the 'Care Plan.' If the target step count is not entered in the Care Plan, the target step count is considered to be 5,000 steps.

Points for completing health management programs are provided when participants complete programs operated by 'Health Management Program Accreditation Institutions.' Recognition is given up to once per week. However, if participating in an overnight program, the number of participation days is recognized as the number of completions.

Just applying to participate grants an immediate 10,000 points, and logging into the mobile app provides 10 points daily. Walking more than the Care Plan’s target step count can earn 100 points per day. Measuring blood pressure or blood sugar at home also earns 100 points per day. Completing education or counseling sessions grants up to five times annually, with 4,000 points per session.

The primary care chronic disease management pilot project is a program where local clinics create personalized management plans for patients and comprehensively manage hypertension and diabetes patients through education and regular patient monitoring. From the 28th, participants in the 99 regions where incentives are newly provided will be guided on how to participate via notification messages (KakaoTalk) from the National Health Insurance Service.

Additionally, to improve the quality of hypertension and diabetes management services provided by clinics, basic education (initial session) and refresher training (annually) for service providers (doctors, nurses, nutritionists) will be mandatory.

Shin Kkot-sigye, Director of the Health Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "By expanding patient incentives, we hope that more hypertension and diabetes patients will manage their health proactively." He added, "In the second half of next year, we plan to expand the project nationwide and improve the system so that points awarded as incentives can also be used at local clinics and other places."