Physician Perspectives on Home Health Implementation in South Korea: Challenges and Future Directions

South Korea's rapidly aging population necessitates alternative healthcare delivery models beyond its hospital-centric system. Home-based care has been widely recognized for its potential to enhance patient outcomes, reduce hospital burden, and provide cost-effective care. However, integrating home-based care into South Korea's healthcare system presents significant challenges.

Qualitative phenomenological design was employed to explore physician executives' perspectives on the integration of home-based care in South Korea.

This qualitative study explores the perspectives of 27 physician executives from 30 hospitals to understand the systemic, cultural, and policy barriers to home health adoption.

Through thematic analysis, three major barriers emerged: systemic misalignment, characterized by an over-reliance on hospitals and a lack of trained home healthcare professionals; cultural and perceptual barriers, including societal expectations of family caregiving and skepticism toward home-based care quality; and a policy-practice gap, marked by inadequate regulatory support and insufficient reimbursement models.

These findings highlight the need for structural reforms, workforce investment, and public awareness initiatives to facilitate the expansion of home-based care. Addressing these challenges will be critical to ensuring sustainable, patient-centered care for South Korea's aging population.

As the country's population ages rapidly, integrating home-based care is essential to ensure sustainable, patient-centered care that reduces hospital burden and improves outcomes for older adults.