Development of a Research-Based Hospital Model in Korea

Noting the increasing public attention on healthcare, Korean society has shown greater attention to the significance of the health technology (HT) development. In order to promote HT competitiveness, the role of research-based hospitals (RBHs), in producing new ideas as well as utilizing final outcomes, has grown increasingly significant. Despite high quality healthcare professionals, state-of-the-art equipment, and well-developed information technology, few hospitals in Korea are successful leaders in HT development. In order to understand HT research and development (R&D) programs in Korea as well as hospital-based R&D investment performance, this paper has analyzed a recent three-year R&D investment of the Korean government. In addition, a survey on how to promote RBHs in Korea has been proceeded through adopting the Delphi method. Several model cases of RBHs abroad have also been studied to understand key success factors in formulating a development model of RBHs in Korea. This paper proposes suggestions for the promotion of RBHs in Korea: systematic reform related to the hospitals, reinforcement of the infrastructure of the hospitals, empowering human resources and policy framework to support the hospitals.