Ministry of Health and Welfare Selected for 'Medical-Care Integrated Support Technology Pilot Project,' Preparing Integrated Support System Ahead of Integrated Care Support Act Enforcement (Mar '26)... Providing Technical Support Including Professional Training and Consulting from January Next Year, Supporting Collaboration System with National Health Insurance Service, etc.
Seongdong-gu, Seoul (Mayor Jeong Won-oh) announced that it has been finally selected in the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s “2025 Medical-Care Integrated Support Technology Support Pilot Project” competition.
As of the end of November 2024, the population aged 65 and over in Seongdong-gu is 50,866, accounting for 18.5% of the total population. This figure has increased by 34% compared to 10 years ago, and the late elderly aged 75 and over, whose medical and care needs are rapidly increasing, is also on the rise.
In addition, South Korea will enter a super-aged society in 2025, where the proportion of elderly people aged 65 and over accounts for more than 20% of the total population. The “Act on Integrated Support for Community Care including Medical and Nursing Care” (hereinafter referred to as the Integrated Care Support Act) is scheduled to be enforced in March 2026. Ahead of the enforcement of the Integrated Care Support Act, the Ministry of Health and Welfare recruited local governments to carry out the “Medical-Care Integrated Support Technology Support Pilot Project” last November.
The “Medical-Care Integrated Support Technology Support Pilot Project” is a project to present a standard model of community care and to expand the integrated support system. It means integrative case management of medical and welfare services, which have been operated separately, centered on the recipients so that the elderly can continue to live where they have lived and maintain a stable life, and providing necessary medical care services through linkage with various providers in the community.
As a result of a comprehensive evaluation of the willingness and capability to promote the project, the validity of the project content, and regional characteristics, Seongdong-gu was finally selected as one of 35 cities and counties.
Accordingly, starting from January next year, Seongdong-gu will receive technical support such as professional education and consulting, and support for establishing a collaborative system with organizations such as the National Health Insurance Service.
Before the full-scale operation of the pilot project, Seongdong-gu held a special lecture on December 13 at the 3rd-floor auditorium of Seongdong-gu Office to enhance understanding of the “Seongdong-type Senior Integrated Care.” Yoo Ae-jung, director of the Integrated Care Research Center at the National Health Insurance Service, gave a lecture on the current status and challenges of public-private cooperation in medical-care integrated support and development plans for integrated care to employees of relevant departments as well as workers from senior welfare centers, medical institutions, long-term care institutions, and care service providers.
Seongdong-gu is especially striving to establish the “Seongdong-type Senior Integrated Care” support system to realize “Healthy Aging in Place (AIP).” By strengthening medical and care services such as Hyosarang Health Primary Care and Care SOS, supporting fall prevention safety products and customized home repairs, installing a smart healthcare center to support senior strength exercises, and conducting various specialized projects such as senior mental healing picnics, it supports continuous and integrated care within the local community.
Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, said, “Being selected for the ‘Medical-Care Integrated Support Technology Support Pilot Project’ is expected to enable the ‘Seongdong-type Senior Integrated Care System’ to be built more effectively so that seniors can live healthy and happy lives in their own homes.” He added, “Creating a community where seniors can live well is an essential task in a super-aged society, so we will strive to provide customized medical integrated care by more carefully understanding seniors’ health conditions and care needs.”
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