Seoul National University Hospital's palliative care and clinical ethics center publishes a 2024 business report...Best for better care delivery

Mar 17, 2025

Seoul National University Hospital's palliative care and clinical ethics center (Director Kim Bum-seok) announced on the 17th that it has published a '2024 Business Report' that contains major business activities and achievements.

The palliative care and clinical ethics center was opened in 2018 for the first time as a domestic medical institution to contribute to the dignified life of patients. It provides palliative care and clinical ethics support services, including advisory hospice, and oversees the deliberation, administration, education, and policy of the medical institution's ethics committee. It also provides life-sustaining treatment plans, repatriation, psycho-emotional support, and socio-economic support in consideration of comprehensive situations such as patient symptoms, psycho-emotional conditions, family structures, care types, and economic problems.

This business report contains four parts (palliative care, clinical ethics, education, and research) of the center's main activities to promote the settlement of palliative care in hospitals and strengthen support for severely ill patients and families in the changing medical environment.

According to the business report, the total number of patients in 2024 decreased slightly (1889 → 1,777) compared to the previous year. However, the number of patients referred to in the outpatient clinic increased (952 → 1104), indicating that the number of severely ill patients who want to receive disease treatment and palliative care at the same time increased. The place of request was in the order of outpatient (62%), ward (22%), emergency room (9%), and intensive care unit (7%).

In particular, the center focused on dedicated doctors' 'outpatient care (non-textured palliative care outpatient care)' instead of advisory hospices provided on a team basis to respond to the growing demand for palliative care in outpatients. Outpatient treatment helps seriously ill patients and their families discuss symptoms management, care plans, and all external organizations from an early stage, and consider medical decisions.

In 2024, outpatient care at palliative care clinics more than doubled from the previous year to an average of 138 cases per month, and prior consultation increased more than 1.3 times to an average of 93 cases per month. Through this, the center met the increased demand for palliative care, provided care without gaps, and contributed to improving the quality of life of severely ill patients.

The following education part contained the main discussions of the symposium, which analyzed the effectiveness and feasibility of advisory-based palliative care. The symposium emphasized the effects of advisory-based palliative care, such as reducing unnecessary medical use and improving quality of life, and suggested the scope of service provision and the need to expand the target patients. In addition, the institutional and conceptual transition to patient-centered palliative care, rather than a perspective limited to end-of-life hospice, has attracted attention as a major task for the realization of domestic advisory-based palliative care.

Director of the Center, Kim Beom-seok (Professor of Hematologic Oncology) said, "2024 is a year when we have confirmed that palliative care is a practical essential medical care as the demand for severe patients for symptom management and care planning increases in difficult situations. We will continue to provide better care to patients and their families, and continue to promote the growth and development of the center.

Meanwhile, this business report was distributed to palliative care institutions and medical institution ethics committees nationwide, and can be downloaded and viewed on the website of the palliative care and clinical ethics center at Seoul National University Hospital.