Outcomes of the support services for the establishment of regional level 1 trauma centers.
10.5124/jkma.2016.59.12.923
- Author:
Jong Min PARK
1
Author Information
1. National Trauma System Management Office, National Emergency Medical Center, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea. jmparkgs@gmail.com
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords:
Wounds and injuries;
Death;
Hospitals;
Transportation
- MeSH:
Cause of Death;
Cerebrovascular Disorders;
Developed Countries;
Humans;
Korea;
Mortality;
Transportation;
Trauma Centers*;
Wounds and Injuries
- From:Journal of the Korean Medical Association
2016;59(12):923-930
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:Korean
-
Abstract:
In Korea, injury is the third most common cause of death after cancer and cerebrovascular disease, but it is the major cause of death for the working age population under 40 years old. Also, the preventable trauma death rate in Korea is still higher than in developed countries. This fact has raised awareness of the need to establish a trauma system. For this reason, support services for the establishment of regional level 1 trauma centers was launched in 2012 by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. The purpose of this service is to designate 17 regional level 1 trauma centers distributed evenly across the country and to provide adequate care for seriously injured patients 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As a result, the preventable trauma death rate is expected to fall to the level of the developed countries by 2020. As of November 2016, 16 regional level 1 trauma centers have been selected and 9 of them have officially opened. If the project is completed as planned, the quality of all phases of trauma care (prehospital, transport, and hospital) will be high, and the lives of seriously injured patients can more often be saved and their disabilities minimized.
