Inha University Hospital President Park Seung-rim |
By Bae Ji-sook
Staff Reporter
Incheon, the port city west of Seoul, is finding itself at the front edge of Korea's globalization with its international village and festival.
Now, Inha University, one of the main schools in Incheon, is picking up the global tune by making its general hospital more accommodative for both foreign and local patients.
Leading this endeavor is Park Seung-rim, president of Inha University Hospital. The effort also brings in Korean Air, the flag carrier of the university's parent company, Hanjin Group, with Hyatt Regency Incheon and Hanjin Tour.
"The hospital is a mere 25-minute drive from Incheon International Airport. We also have a small emergency center inside the airport so that any emergencies taking place there can be treated by our medical staff," Park said. "They will be the starting point and we will expand our 'client' base to all people visiting Korea through the airport," Park said.
Park's efforts come as the government is gearing up to accommodate foreign patients, a move that is considered beneficial for both hospitals and the government. Hospitals are able to receive patients not covered by the national health insurance system, allowing them to earn profits, while the administration expects to create six new jobs for every 100 foreign patients Korea admits.
Since May, the revised Medical Law has allowed hospitals and other medical facilities to advertize for patients from abroad. Before, only those who sought treatment through referrals were allowed.
As "global healthcare" is one of 17 future growth engines for the Lee Myung-bak administration, the authorities have been more than enthusiastic - they have eased regulations regarding coordinators speaking foreign languages, and supported the establishment of the Council for the Promotion of Korean Medicine Overseas and familiarization tours for foreign medical tourism agencies.
The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs expect about 400,000 foreigners to be treated in Korea by 2015.
Park also said that accommodating foreign patients will be a challenge for the Korean medical field.
"To get people to visit Korea for treatment, which they may have never considered before, we will have to be more attractive, well-organized, well-trained and have a good record," he said.
The hospital has recently established an international healthcare center exclusively for foreigners. Patients can get consultations from staff members speaking Russian, English, Japanese and Chinese. Prof. Lee Yang, the head of the center, has over two decades of working experience in the United States.
"The center is the second largest of its kind in Korea, following Severance Hospital, and the staff is one the best in the country. We are still at the beginning of operations, but I am sure that it will bear fruit," Park said.
To gain global recognition and give a sense of security to large multi-national insurance companies, the hospital is also pushing to get JCI (The Journal of Clinical Investigation) approval, an international system for accrediting hospitals. Only Yonsei's Severance Hospital and Korea University's Anam Hospital have earned the approval so far.
"JCI approval is more than just getting recognition. It assures the patients that we have systemized our knowledge and techniques, and that our services are suitable for everyone to use and feel safe with it," he said.
"We are targeting Mongolians, Chinese, Russians and eventually Americans. I know some people are somewhat apprehensive about foreign patient treatment, fearing that domestic patients will lose out. But I say the more foreign patients we receive, the more we can put that money into providing a high quality service to Korean patients," he said.
Park said fees for foreigners will be about 44 percent higher than for those who have domestic national health insurance.
"Still, many people told me it is far cheaper," Park said.
He said the hospital is focusing on lung cancer and rheumatism treatment, aiming at becoming among the nation's top five in the fields in the near future.
Asked about how he feels to be compared to the so-called Big Four - Seoul National University, Samsung Medical Center, Asan Medical Center and Severance Hospital - Park laughed it off and said, "We will never try to compete with domestic hospitals in terms of attracting foreign patients. We are who we are and I think we're competitive anyway," he said.
bjs@koreatimes.co.kr
|
