Patient Perspectives of Chronic Disease Management and Unmet Care Needs in South Korea: A Qualitative Study

Understanding and incorporating patients’ perspectives are necessary to address the emerging challenge of chronic disease management. Our study examined patients’ perceptions and experiences for the current chronic disease management system in South Korea. Focus group interviews were conducted on 23 patients and 11 themes emerged by qualitative content analysis. The participants experienced in terms of provider-patient interaction: doctors only prescribe medicine, doctors who provide conventional advice, doctors who do not respect the patients’ opinion, long wait times and inadequate consultations, lack of personalized care, and freedom to select another doctor. They also experienced in their community and health system: struggling alone, commercial media and folk remedies, lack of IT technologies for care, demanding visiting services, and lack of collaboration in the community. We found that patients needed comprehensive and personalized care, respect from providers, and self-management support and collaborated care with the community using information technologies advancement. Our findings suggest that a fundamental change in the South Korean healthcare system paradigm is required for successful chronic care, including payment and healthcare delivery systems.