Psychiatry in Korea

Abstract

This paper reports the current status of Korean psychiatry. In 2011, there were 3005 psychiatrists and 75,000 psychiatric beds. There were 84 psychiatric residency-training hospitals in 2011, which produced about 150 psychiatry board-certified doctors annually. As for academic activity, there is the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association, a main association for neuropsychiatry, and 21 other research societies. Psychiatric residency is a 4-year training program, with different objectives for each grade. The Korean health system accepts National Health Insurance. When severely mentally ill patients register as having a mental disorder, they pay only 10% of their total medical costs. Private clinics usually see patients with less severe conditions such as anxiety, mood and eating disorders; general and university hospitals and special mental hospitals often deal with severe conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. One great concern is an increasing trend to depend upon pharmacotherapy and neglect the role of psychotherapy. Additionally, conflicts among medical sectors are becoming fierce as other doctors request abolition of the current law that restricts them from prescribing anti-depressants for more than 60 days. The average hospitalization period of all mental care institutions was 166 days in 2010, substantially longer compared with developed countries. To win the heart of the general public, cutting edge research to improve the quality of treatment for mental diseases, reformation of psychiatric residency training programs, public campaigns to increase awareness of mental health value, and timely reflection on policy decisions should be pursued persistently.