• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• 제16권3호
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• pp.80-83
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• 2019

First of all, this study shows the legal issues of hospice and palliative care, and the legal basis for lifelong medical practice is generally derived from medical, civil and criminal law regulations, and is applied to patients who are severely ill and dying in principle. In addition, those what is particularly meaningful about hospice and palliative care in terms of legal aspects are discussed the determination of the purpose of care and the provision of medical adaptability and adult guardianship, in particular the legal criteria for the work and status of patient representatives. As such, the purpose of care is to form part of the contract of care and to be agreed between the patient and the physician. In addition, the patient may not write to his/her agent in advance, and the patient may admit discretionary powers to his/her agent, but the patient's will is to be considered. In conclusion, the medical institutional ethics committee should play an active role, especially in the case of no-agents/family or no intention of the patient.

• 턱관절균형의학회지
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• 제3권1호
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• pp.1-7
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• 2013

Objectives: This study is aimed to recognize the role of TMJ in Korean medicine basic theory and clinic, which is the foundation of human life sustaining. Methods: It was identified and confirmed the organic connection between TMJ and Korean medicine specially Meridian theory. Results: In Korean medicine be based policies to promote of Oriental Medicine Promotion Act, the therapy of TMJ balancing is one of the parts of Korean medicine treatment of technique. TMJ balancing performs a primary role to treat diseases in the brain and the cervical vertebrae. Conclusions: TMJ balancing medicine is the part of integrative medicine for systemic diseases treatment to be based on Korean medicine basic theory.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.95-100
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• 2023

With the implementation of Act on Hospice and Palliative Care and Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment for Patients at the End of Life, interests of the general public on self-determination right and dignified death of patients have increased markedly in Korea. However, "self-determination" on medical care is misunderstood as decision not to sustain life, and "dignified death" as terminating life before suffering from disease in terminal stage. This belief leads that physician-assisted suicide should be accommodated is being proliferated widely in the society even without accepting euthanasia. Artificially terminating the life of a human is an unethical act even though there is any rational or motivation by the person requesting euthanasia, and there is agreement thereof has been reached while there are overseas countries that allow euthanasia. Given the fact that the essence of medical care is to enable the human to live their lives in greater comfort by enhancing their health throughout their lives, physician-assisted suicide should be deemed as one of the means of euthanasia, not as a means of dignified death. Accordingly, institutional organization and improvement of the quality of hospice palliative care to assist the patients suffering from terminal stage or intractable diseases in putting their lives in order and to more comfortably accept the end of life physically, mentally, socially, psychologically and spiritually need to be implemented first to ensure their dignified death.

• 중환자간호학회지
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• 제13권1호
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• pp.27-43
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• 2020

Purpose : This integrative review aimed to synthesize studies on intensive care unit (ICU) nurses' attitude, perceptions, and experiences toward end-of-life care decision-making. Methods : Using Whittermore and Knafl (2005)'s methods, we identified and synthesized research articles published in domestic journals between the years 2003 and 2019 and evaluated the quality of selected articles using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Results : In the 13 studies reviewed, 12 were published prior to enactment of the "The Act for Hospice and Palliative Care and Decision-Making about Life-Sustaining Treatment (2018)." All nine quantitative studies identified were based on cross-sectional descriptive survey. In four qualitative studies, content analysis (n=2) and phenomenology (n=2) were used. Overall, ICU nurses were well-aware of the necessity of communicating and limiting life-sustaining treatments. Many ICU nurses had positive attitude towards limiting life-sustaining treatments to promote patients' comfort and dignity. Although nurses were willing to take active roles, they also reported having experienced high stress in the process of decision-making and implementation. Conclusions : It is important to prepare ICU nurses with proper knowledge and attitude regarding the topic area. It is also equally important to develop systems to support nurses' emotional stress and moral distress during communication, decision-making, and implementation.

• 의학교육논단
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• 제22권3호
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• pp.146-152
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• 2020

Hospice and palliative care (HPC) education is an essential component of undergraduate medical education. Since February 4th, 2018, withholding and withdrawing life-sustaining treatment at the end of life (EOL) has been permitted in Korea as put forth by law, the "Act on Hospice and Palliative Care and Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment for Patients at the End of Life." Therefore, Korean medical schools have faced a challenge in providing comprehensive HPC education in order to better prepare medical students to be competent physicians in fulfilling their role in caring for patients at the EOL. There have been considerable variations in the evolution and organization of HPC education across Korean medical schools for the past 20 years. In 2016, all medical schools taught HPC curriculum as a separate course or integrated courses, with the most frequently taught topics including: delivering bad news, pain management, and the concept of palliative medicine. However, the content, time allocation, learning format, and clinical skills practice training of HPC education have been insufficient, inconsistent, and diverse. For this reason, we propose a HPC curriculum containing seven domains with 60 learning objectives in a course duration of over 20 hours based on the Palliative Education Assessment Tool (PEAT) as standard HPC curriculum. Furthermore, we recommend development of a national curriculum for HPC/EOL care education to be organized by the HPC board and managed under the accreditation criteria of the Korea Institute of Medical Education and Evaluation.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.69-79
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the involvement of patients who died from hematologic neoplasms in the decision-making process surrounding the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment (LST). Methods: A total of 255 patients diagnosed with hematologic neoplasms who ultimately died following decisions related to LST during their end-of-life period at a university hospital were included in the study. Data were retrospectively obtained from electronic medical records and analyzed utilizing the chi-square test, independent t-test, and logistic regression. Results: In total, 42.0% of patients participated in the decision-making process regarding LST for their hematologic neoplasms, while 58.0% of decisions were made with family involvement. Among these patients, 65.1% died in general wards and 34.9% in intensive care units (ICUs) as a result of decisions such as the suspension of LST. The period from the LST decision to death was longer when the decision was made by the patient (average, 27.15 days) than when it was made by the family (average, 7.48 days). Most decisions were made by doctors and family members in the ICU, where only 20.6% of patients exercised their right to make decisions regarding LST, a rate considerably lower than 79.4% observed in general wards. Decisions to withhold or withdraw LST were more commonly made by patients themselves than by their families. Conclusion: The key to discussing the decision to suspend hospice care and LST is respecting the patient's self-determination. If a patient is lucid prior to admission to the ICU, considerations about suspending LST should involve the patient input.

• 한국임상약학회지
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• 제31권2호
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• pp.145-152
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• 2021

Background: The Life-Sustaining Treatment Decision-Making Act has allowed anyone aged 19 or older to sign an Advance Directive not to receive life-sustaining treatment when they are in the 'death process'. Recently, the Korean Pharmaceutical Association announced to raise awareness of the Advance Directive to the general public through community pharmacies across the country. This study aimed to investigate the public's willingness to accept pharmacist's consultation regarding the Advance Directive and to present future directions to pharmacists Methods: This cross-sectional questionnaire study using 16-items was conducted in adults, Study subjects were recruited by convenience sampling method during August 5-15, 2020. Results: Of 460 respondents, 51.7% were younger than 30-year-old and 58.7% were not in the healthcare field in terms of job or major. 60.2% knew about the Advance Directive and 81.7% agreed the necessity to sign when healthy. 50.0% had the willingness to consult with pharmacists on the Advance Directive for well-dying and 80.4% preferred verbal explanation together with written information. Simple linear regression analysis results showed a significant relationship between trust in pharmacists or satisfaction with pharmacist's communication and willingness to use pharmacist' consultation on the Advance Directive (1-point increases in values measured on a five-point scale are associated with 0.464 and 0.486 increases, respectively.) Conclusion: This study suggests that pharmacists need to improve the public's trust and communication capability to satisfy with public's demands on well-dying service.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• 제22권4호
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• pp.198-206
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• 2019

목적: 호스피스 및 완화치료 환자 또는 임종단계 환자를 위한 연명 치료 결정에 관한 법안은 2016년에 제정되어 2018년 2월부터 시행 되었다. 이 법안의 취지와 내용은 미국의 POLST에 근거한다. 이 연구의 목적은 미국의 POLST를 변형하여 만든 MK-POLST를 호스피스 병동 환자들에게 적용을 한 뒤 각 항목에 대한 선호도 및 시행 일치율을 조사하는 것이다. 방법: 2017년 2월 1일부터 2019년 4월 30일까지 경상대학교병원의 부속 호스피스 병동의 모든 입원 환자의 MK-POLST에 대한 의무기록을 후향적으로 분석하였다. 결과: 총 387명의 연구대상자 중 295명의 환자가 MK-POLST를 작성했다. MK-POLST는 환자 자신이 133건(44.1%), 배우자가 84건(28.5 %), 자녀가 75건(25.4%) 작성했다. MK-POLST가 작성된 295 명의 환자 중 단 13명(4.4%)이 주사 영양제를 거부하였으며, 5명(1.7%)은 완화적 진정을 거부하였지만, 대다수인 288명(97.6%)이 심폐소생술 및 인공호흡기 치료를 원하지 않았고, 226명(76.9%)이 승압제 사용을 원하지 않았다. 인공호흡기, 심폐소생술 및 완화적 진정을 제외한 모든 MK-POLST 항목의 시행 일치율에 대한 Kappa 값은 낮았다. 결론: 호스피스 환자들은 심폐소생술, 인공호흡기 및 승압제 사용은 거부 했지만, 대조적으로 항생제, 주사 영양제 및 완화적 진정은 대다수 또는 절대적인 경우에 선호했다.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• 제22권1호
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• pp.1-7
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• 2019

한국에서 호스피스의 기원은 11세기 초, 고려시대의 동서대비원(東西大悲院)에서 그 유래를 찾을 수 있다. 한국에 호스피스가 도입된 이후, 50여년이 흘렀고, 초기에는 종교적 배경과 민간차원의 활동이 더디게 발전해왔으나, 1990년대에 각 종교단체가 구성되고 학회가 출범한 이후, 2000년대 초기부터 정부의 개입으로 제도화가 진행되면서 본격적인 성장기를 맞게 되었다. 비록 말기암환자와 그 가족들의 고통이 경감되고 삶의 질과 서비스의 질은 향상되었으나, 안정적인 재정기반을 보장할 수 있는 현실적인 보상체계는 마련되지 못했었다. 그러나, 2015년에 호스피스 완화의료 서비스에 대한 국민건강보험 급여수가가 인정되었고, 2016년에 "호스피스 완화의료 및 임종과정에 있는 환자의 연명의료결정에 관한 법률"이 제정되어 말기환자의 무의미한 연명치료를 거부할 수 있게 되었으며, 호스피스 완화의료 서비스의 대상 질환이 확대되면서 서비스제공자들에게는 더 많은 도전과 과제들이 남아있다.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
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• 제20권3호
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• pp.167-172
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• 2017

말기 간경변은 간이식이 아니면 근본적 회복을 기대하기 어려운 질환으로, 환자와 가족의 장기간의 고통을 수반하기에 호스피스 완화의료적 접근에 대한 고려가 필요하며 이와 관련된 논의와 법규 정비가 이루어지고 있다. 말기 간경변에 따른 여러 증상은 다양한 중증도를 갖기에 그 대상자를 선별함에 주의가 필요하고, 일반적으로 Child-Pugh 분류상 C단계의 비대상성 환자들 중 적극 치료해도 호전되지 않는 간신증후군, 간성 뇌증 및 정맥류 출혈 환자로 한정하고 있다. 간이식이라는 완치적 치료법이 있는 점도 호스피스 완화의료적 접근 전에 충분히 환자 및 가족들과 상의 되어야 한다. 이러한 의학적 상태에 대한 판단은 때론 다변적이고 경계가 모호한 경우가 많아, 장기간의 진료와 평가를 기반으로 하는 것이 바람직하다. 따라서, 말기 간경변 환자에서 호스피스 완화치료 대상자의 선별은 전문 치료와 호스피스 완화치료 사이에 균형을 이루고 최선의 치료가 될 수 있도록, 간질환 전문가를 비롯한 여러 전문가들의 상호 협의와 다학제적 접근을 통해 이루어져야 한다. 본문에서는 호스피스 완화의료적 측면에서 말기 간경변이 갖는 특징과 고려해야 할 사항에 대해서 간략히 검토해 보고자 한다.