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Sohn: PREFACE
Editorial
Journal of Korean Medical Science

Journal of Korean Medical Science 2012; 27(Suppl): S2.

Published online: 18 May 2012

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2012.27.S.S2

PREFACE

Myongsei Sohn, MD

Guest Editor

© 2012 The Korean Academy of Medical Sciences.

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Discourse on healthcare delivery systems involves local and particular issues for many reasons. First, a healthcare system is a product of interactions between interest groups, policymakers and academia on particular issues. Second, these interactions take place within the context of health needs, available resources, and political environment. Indeed, government plays an important role in policy development. Lastly, the historical development of the healthcare system and its political basis shape the discourse on reasonable healthcare, which is acceptable to the values of its citizens.
Korea now faces the difficulty of balancing between seemingly conflicting values: constricting increases in healthcare expenditures and securing access to modest healthcare, considering industrial values of competition and listening to the voice of the people arguing for equity in healthcare. While the government is expected to take initiative in many issues concerning healthcare policy, its actions should be under the restraint of law and public review. Critical review from academia, which can provide objective or at least arguable contents to discourse about healthcare policy, is valuable in this regard.
This publication of the JKMS supplement, titled 'The Present and Future of Healthcare Policy of Korea', includes articles on healthcare policy issues from various perspectives, from public health policy to law and ethics. The articles are aimed at providing common ground for understanding current healthcare policy issues and for discussions between different intentions.
Although the issues in this publication apply to the Korean experience, the successes and failures of one nation's healthcare system may provide lessons to other countries experiencing similar challenges in healthcare.
As a Guest Editor for this publication, I appreciate the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences for their understanding and kind consideration. I am also deeply thankful to the reviewers who granted their time and effort to review the manuscripts.
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