Last year, despite being well-known for cosmetic surgery ,South Korea could not take advantage internationally due to the Medical Service Act that banned the introduction of patients to medical practitioners. 2009 shows a completely different story. Following the enactment of the revised Medical Service Act on May 1, hospitals can promote medical services to foreign patients.
Last year, despite being well-known for cosmetic surgery ,South Korea could not take advantage internationally due to the Medical Service Act that banned the introduction of patients to medical practitioners.
2009 shows a completely different story. Following the enactment of the revised Medical Service Act on May 1, hospitals can promote medical services to foreign patients. A medical tourist visa was introduced on May 11, and foreign patients who make reservations at Korean hospitals can now easily enter Korea. As a result of this changing environment, the number of foreign patients at six leading Korean hospitals jumped 41 percent year-on-year in May, higher than the 32-percent gain between January and April. Korean hospitals are radically changing what services they offer foreign medical tourists after the Korean government singled out medical tourism for growth.
South Korea’s Health Ministry hopes to attract 100,000 medical tourists by 2011.
The Seoul Metropolitan City recently held a familiarization tour for ten leading Japanese tour operators. Gyeonggi Province sent representatives from seven hospitals in the province to Kazakhstan’s largest city of Almaty to hold a medical services promotional session there. A call center will soon be launched in Tokyo to connect Korean hospitals and clinics with Japanese patients. A new website is providing foreigners with counselling on medical tourism in Korea via translators.
Indicative of the change is that the country’s first profit-making hospital backed by foreign corporate capital will be set up in Jeju. Previously, only doctors and non-profit corporations were allowed to open and operate medical institutions. Wooridul Hospital in Korea, and the Tasly Group, a large Chinese pharmaceutical company, have agreed investment for the project. Wooridul International Hospital will have 100 beds and aims to be open by 2011 in Seogwipo, Jeju.It will include a spinal clinic and cutting-edge medical examination facilities. The US$100 million project is the first large-scale joint investment of domestic and foreign capital in the medical industry.
With a revised law, hospitals can now hire agencies to help attract medical tourists. In the past, although advertisements targeting the general public were allowed, medical institutions could not hire agencies to seek patients for them or directly target marketing efforts at specific groups. South Korea continues to be a popular destination for Asian women seeking cosmetic surgery and the government now hopes to get patients from all over the world, including America and Europe.
Many rivals suffer from doctor shortages, but here over 3000 new doctors start practice every year, and they need overseas patients as the domestic market is at capacity. New jobs as medical coordinators and medical agents are also being created. A new educational company has been set up to teach South Koreans how to pursue a career in this industry. Hospitals and medical agencies that want to carry out marketing activities to attract foreign patients have to register with the government. The health ministry says that since May, 388 medical institutions and agencies have registered.
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