(1) Reasons for Proposal

The Act on Hospice and Palliative Care and Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment for Patients at the End of Life was amended (March 27, 2018) and as a result, the scope of medical treatments subject to life-sustaining treatment was increased and the “retention method” field was deleted from the list of compulsory items in an preliminary statement on life-sustaining treatment. Accordingly, this Amendment reflects these modifications in the forms of the Enforcement Decree and aims to address items that have been the subject of frequent inquiries and requests for improvement since the enforcement of the Act, such as provisions on checking the family relation certificate when making a decision on life-sustaining treatment.

(2) Major Provisions

A. Increase the scope of documents that may be checked by the doctor in charge and a medical specialist in the relevant field when verifying a patient’s intention on determination to terminate, etc., life-sustaining treatment or applying for hospice care by prescribing that a family relation certificate, family census register, or other documents to verify family relationships shall be checked (Article 13 and Article 14, Article 22)

B. Delete the phrase stating that among the required documents for an application for designation of an institution specialized in hospice care, the performance report for the recent 6-month period shall apply only where medical treatment has taken place (Article 20)

C. Change the term “terminal patient, etc.” to “patient eligible for hospice care” (Article 22)

D. Change the facility requirements, operation requirements, and remarks in the designation requirements for institutions specialized in hospice care (attached Table 1)

E. In accordance with the increased scope of medical treatments subject to life-sustaining treatment, modify the provisions requiring a determination to terminate, etc., life-sustaining treatment to be described in detail in the preliminary statement on life-sustaining treatment, life-sustaining treatment plan, statement of verification of patient’s intention on a determination to terminate, etc., life-sustaining treatment (statement from the patient's family), and statement of verification of the intention of the person of parental authority and the patient's family on a determination to terminate, etc., life-sustaining treatment to instead prescribe regulations on verification of intention on life-sustaining treatment in general (attached Forms 1, 6, 11, and 12)

F. Delete the “retention method” field in the form for preliminary statements on life-sustaining treatment (attached Form 6)

G. Modify the decision form for end-of-life patients to prescribe that where a patient is using hospice care at an institution specialized in hospice care after being diagnosed as a terminal patient, end-of-life judgments may be made solely by the doctor in charge (attached Form 9)

H. In the implementation form for a determination to terminate, etc., life-sustaining treatment, simplify the implementation date and time to year, month, and date, and add a field for specifying the implementation details and post-implementation actions (attached Form 13)

I. In the inspection of records application form, delete the results of verification by the doctor in charge and a medical expert in the relevant field concerning life-sustaining treatment plans pursuant to Article 17, paragraph 1, subparagraph 1 (attached Form 21)