Admission rates for both conditions are significantly above the OECD average and probably reflect the higher than average smoking rates within the country (especially among men). Hypertension admission rates are also high and have increased steadily over the past few years. The trends presented in these data particularly for COPD and hypertension indicate that Korea’s mounting chronic disease profile is not being managed effectively. Supporting the observation of potentially avoidable hospital admissions, reseachers in Korea examining the impact of continuity of care in four chronic disease areas among elderly patients (diabetes, hypertension, asthma and COPD) found that as care continuity increased, the risk of hospitalisation and emergency department visits decreased for all four conditions. The same study also noted that Medical Aid Programme (MAP) receipients (the health care scheme for the poorest 2% of the population) consistently had lower continuity of care score when compared with NHI beneficiaries. This was observed even despite the fact that MAP recipients have low or no out of pocket payments means that they can visit multiple health care institutions without financial loss (Hong et al.,