Seoul Expands Integrated Care Eligibility, Uses Standard Models to Narrow Care Gaps

Expand care eligibility and standardize region-specific programs
Oh Sehoon visits site to discuss ways to improve the system
"Build a community care network so everyone can continue living with dignity"

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is expanding eligibility for “Seoul-style integrated care” and developing standardized services for region-specific programs. Since March, the city has been providing “Seoul-style integrated care,” which links services across five areas—medical care, health, long-term care, daily living support, and housing—so older adults and people with disabilities can receive medical and care services where they live.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government on October 21, eligibility for Seoul-style integrated care will be expanded next year to include all people under 65 with severe disabilities, and a pilot program for people with mental illnesses will also be launched. The program currently focuses on older adults and people under 65 with severe physical disabilities or brain lesions.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government is implementing “Seoul-style integrated care” to ensure that older adults and people with disabilities can receive medical and care services where they live. Seoul Metropolitan Government.

The city also plans to develop a standard model for district-specific programs to reduce disparities in care services between districts. In cooperation with Seoul Housing & Communities Corporation (SH), it also plans to establish “intermediate homes”—short-term care housing in different regions where patients can prepare for rehabilitation and a return to daily life after being discharged from hospital.

To this end, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the Gwanak Health Care Connection Center in Gwanak-gu that afternoon to review the results since the launch of integrated care and discuss ways to improve the system with staff on the ground and service users.

The visit was arranged to hear from people working on the ground and build a robust, community-centered care system so that integrated care can bring tangible changes to residents’ daily lives. At the center, Mayor Oh toured the “Older Adults’ Health-Enhancing Massage Service,” a program in which blind massage therapists help older adults manage their health, and encouraged service users and staff.

The center supports a range of activities, including the “Older Adults’ Health-Enhancing Massage Service,” in which blind massage therapists help with health management; the “Strong and Healthy Class,” which offers exercises to prevent falls and strengthen muscles; and a cooking and nutrition program where participants prepare diabetic-friendly meals themselves.

At a meeting that followed, participants shared updates on integrated care initiatives in Seoul and Gwanak-gu and heard from people working in public health and medical care, health, long-term care, and other care services. Attendees included representatives from Gwanak-gu, the public health center, the National Health Insurance Service’s Gwanak Branch, home-based long-term care agencies, the pharmacists’ association, home-based medical care centers, the Integrated Care Medical Center at Seoul Metropolitan Boramae Hospital, and the Seoul Welfare Foundation.

Participants heard and discussed a range of views from the field, including calls to standardize services to address imbalances between districts and expand home-based medical care centers. The Gwanak Health Care Connection Center visited that day is a regional integrated care hub located within the Sillim General Social Welfare Center. It provides information about and connects residents to care services, and runs programs in exercise, nutrition, health management, and emotional support.

Since Seoul-style integrated care was launched, a total of 20,711 people had applied for the program as of the end of September. Of these, 14,343 people were connected to a total of 69,119 care services. This means that each service user received an average of 4.8 services.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government has established a cooperative network involving 78 public institutions, including public health centers and dementia care centers, and 5,876 private institutions, including social welfare centers and home-based long-term care agencies. It has also laid the groundwork for community-based care, including by setting up dedicated integrated care teams in all 25 districts. The city plans to incorporate feedback from the field gathered at the meeting into future policies. On October 30, it will hold a policy forum with integrated care experts to discuss improvements to the system and its future development.

Mayor Oh said, “Everyone wants to continue living among their neighbors in the home they have lived in for a long time and in a familiar neighborhood, even if aging, illness, or disability makes daily life difficult. By drawing on the voices of people working on the ground, we will build an even stronger community care network and make Seoul a ‘special city for quality of life,’ where everyone can lead a healthy and dignified life where they live.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.