From Next Month, Hospitals with 300+ Beds Must Mandate End-of-Life Rooms... One-Year Grace Period Given

Cost for Using End-of-Life Care Rooms in Tertiary Hospitals Reduced from 436,000 Won to 80,000 Won

From next month, hospitals with 300 or more beds will be required to install end-of-life care rooms.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 24th, following the enforcement of the 'Medical Service Act Enforcement Rules' mandating the installation of separate end-of-life care rooms within medical institutions, general hospitals and nursing hospitals with 300 or more beds newly established from the 1st of next month must install at least one end-of-life care room. Hospitals already in operation will be given a one-year grace period.

An end-of-life care room is a space where patients nearing death can prepare for a dignified death with their family and acquaintances, and face their final moments in psychological stability.

According to Statistics Korea, 75.4% of all deaths last year occurred in medical institutions. This means that three out of four people in Korea die in medical institutions. However, due to the medical environment mostly consisting of multi-bed rooms, it has been difficult for patients to spend their last moments with their families in dignity.

Accordingly, with the revision of the Medical Service Act Enforcement Rules, patients will be able to prepare for end-of-life in an independent space of at least 10㎡ together with their family. Additionally, a health insurance fee will be newly established for single-bed end-of-life care rooms, which were previously not covered by health insurance, reducing the economic burden of using these rooms.

The cost of using end-of-life care rooms in nursing hospitals will decrease from the existing 106,000 KRW to about 36,000 KRW, and in tertiary general hospitals from 436,000 KRW to 80,000 KRW.

Kim Guk-il, Director of Health and Medical Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "Given that more than 75% of people end their lives in medical institutions, end-of-life care rooms are spaces where patients can dignifiedly conclude their final moments with their families," adding, "We will continue to cooperate with local governments and medical institutions to ensure that patients and families do not experience inconvenience in using end-of-life care rooms."