Future Directions for Next-Generation Hospital Information System

Managing hospitals in good financial status is not an easy matter, especially in South Korea, where strict regulations limit the increase of medical cost. In South Korea, medical treatment is regarded as an essential public benefit that should be provided fairly to all citizens. For this reason, the Korean government has strictly controlled medical costs. The annual inflation rate of medical costs is around 1.3%; this is usually achieved through heated discussions between the government and the medical sector. Thus, the low profit medical environment has driven the hospital atmosphere into competition for increasing numbers of patient visits. This is a race not for best practice but for survival in a market with tight profit margins. The health policy has shown positive effects in terms of nationwide spending on health, especially in comparison to the high costs in many other countries. However, the squeezing health policy in South Korea has driven health organizations to pursue a path that is not promising for the best practice.